The Japanese town that hasn’t sent trash to a landfill since 2003 and how it did it

In the mountains of Japan’s Shikoku Island lies Kamikatsu, a small town of just 1,500 people that has quietly achieved what most cities only dream of living almost entirely waste-free. Since 2003, this community hasn’t dumped a single piece of trash in a landfill. Instead, it’s become a global example of what determination and collective effort can do in tackling the world’s waste crisis. The journey toward zero waste Kamikatsu’s story began in the late 1990s. Back then, residents burned most of their garbage in open pits, releasing thick smoke and ash...