Letter: Green Japan

Sir You describe Japan as "a wasteful country, with a poor record on recycling" ("Japan fears a bumpy ride on road to climate deal", 1 December). All evidence here points to the contrary.

At railway stations there are separate rubbish bins for newspapers, cans and bottles. Similarly at offices and in the Japanese home, rubbish must be separated into categories, otherwise it will not be taken away. It is common here for neighbours to search through offending rubbish in order to find an envelope with the address of the depositor on, in order to return it.

There are recycling facilities at supermarkets for items such as milk cartons (which must first be washed and cut and laid flat. I'm not kidding.) There are also special rubbish collection days for items such as batteries and polystyrene.

PETER JUETT

Saitama, Japan