First of all, it is very important to know where your apartment’s garbage disposal area is. Most apartments will have a designated area in the 1st floor/lobby of the apartment building, or right outside. Sometimes there will be a net or some kind of marking (sign, poster, etc) to show the designated spot, sometimes there is no marking (in this case please ask the management office or person in charge of the building).

Following are some pictures of common apartment garbage disposal areas:

Next thing to know is the schedule of garbage pickup in your ward. Most wards have specific days to pick up specific types of garbage (i.e. Combustibles on Monday and Thursday, Plastic bottles on Tuesday, Cans and Glass on Friday, etc.) It is important to know which days to put out which garbage. Also, make sure you know what constitutes as combustible garbage and what does not. The standards of what can be burned and what needs to be recycled also varies on the ward you live in. Below is an image of garbage disposal following general guidelines and what the majority of wards go by. (Click to enlarge)

Here is an english-friendly and detailed website to answer all of your specific garbage-related questions >>

http://www.tokyo-icc.jp/guide_eng/info/01.html

Also, here is a link to ward-specific contact information and garbage disposal details >>

http://www.union.tokyo23-seisou.lg.jp.e.de.hp.transer.com/joho/index.html

Happy garbage disposing!