Environmental Policy Bureau

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Fun, knowledge-packed tours for kids and adults to learn about the city’s approach to environmental issues

Working to create a city that can sustainably reduce the environmental load

Kyoto’s clean (waste disposal) centers are open to the public by appointment to promote the spread of the “reduce, reuse and recycle”3R principle in Kyoto. The 3 clean centers in the north, northeast and south of the city are for safely and suitably disposing of garbage. Likewise, at the landfill site “Ecoland Otowa-no-mori”, where incombustible waste and ash from other garbage center’s incinerators are buried. And, at the waste edible oil facility, cooking oil from homes, restaurants and eateries is turned into biodiesel fuel to run some of the garbage collection trucks operated by Kyoto City.
Only group tours are accommodated at any of the above facilities and an advanced booking is necessary for a tour that takes about 60 to 150 minutes. Please note that the southern clean center is closed at present due to reconstruction but will be open to the public again as soon as the construction work is completed.
At the Northern Clean Center, a major theme involves getting local citizens to learn about what is needed to reduce global warming and how society needs to be formed to become a recycling one. In particular, it is vital that children, who will inherit the future earth, learn how to think for themselves and turn those thoughts into actions. Hence, by creating an amusement-game story, the center finds ways for children to enjoy learning about the value of the environment while touring the actual clean center.