The Woman Behind a Town with No Trash
“Only human can change the environmental situation, because we are the ones who cause and influence the environment. Only we can break this vicious cycle.” — Akira Sakano
Can you imagine a world without waste? For Akira Sakano, this is not just a wishful thinking. Together with Zero Waste Academy, she envisions Kamikatsu, Japan, to be the nation’s first zero-waste town by 2020.
Kamikatsu has no garbage trucks. The residents need to carefully sort their waste into 45 different categories so it can be recycled, reused, or composted. It obviously took some time for people to get used to this rule, but they eventually managed to create drastic changes and are now seeing this as normal habit.
Here’s the story of one childhood dream, that turns into a global inspiration —a real attempt to save the world.
How would you explain what you do in one sentence?
We influence people’s mindset, action, and social system to turn ‘waste’ into ‘non-waste’.
What drives you to do this? What’s your main source of determination?
I always admire birds, for as long as I can remember. At the age of 10, I saw this picture book that illustrated the world’s biggest parrots. I was awestruck seeing one native bird from New Zealand, called Kakapo. From my innocent eyes, it looked special and unique. As I flipped through the last pages, I read that Kakapo was considered endangered species and we probably wouldn’t get to see them anymore. While digesting the information, I got very confused.
When I learned about the subject deeper, later I understood that humans contribute in the massive change of our ecosystem — deforestation, illegal animal purchasing, the list goes on. Not only birds, apparently other species are also endangered because of human beings. As a child, I was thinking, “what can I do?”
At that time, most of environmental activities focused only on natural conservation, while the general public activity concerning this issue only revolved around planting trees or cleaning up beaches.
These activities are obviously positive and important, but they don’t solve the root cause of the problem. Therefore, I was more interested in building policies and involving in the attempt to change mindset, action, and the main cause of environmental issues.
Interesting how the calling started very early, since you’re a kid. How did you end up here in Zero Waste Academy?
I actually wasn’t interested in waste problem at all, at first. I was more into protecting endangered species and the policy around that. It started to evolve when I entered university. I majored in Environmental Policy. There, I got to know about this town, Kamikatsu, that was already doing the zero waste initiative.
When I visited the town, I got inspired by how the residents took initiatives and commitment, pushing the ambition forward from different perspectives and in various ways. They have strong sense of belonging towards this mission.
I realized that, maybe, an ambitious attempt can indeed sustain and create impact when it’s powered by one whole community. And that’s a really interesting model. That’s why I decided to be here.
I can imagine that instilling a societal system must have been a long road with countless bumps. What usually brings you back and feeds your motivation when things are rough?
Well, it always comes back to my original purpose and reason: Only human can change the environmental situation, because we are the ones who cause and influence the environment. Only we can break this vicious cycle.
I remind myself that if I stopped, the continuity of this attempt could also be stopped. When things are rough, I may slow things down a bit, but I keep on pushing myself to continue, no matter what. Because in the end, you always get to see the results. It might not be instant, but it’s sustainable.
How would you describe your whole career journey so far with an analogy?
Since I’m a huge fan of birds, I’d say it’s like a bird flying in the sky.
When you’re flying, you always have a purpose. However sometimes, while you think you know the direction, you still got confused anyway. When the wind blows, you are clueless where you are and where it’ll take you.
The more experienced you are, along the way, you’ll be able to control the wind better. You can even ride on the wind. But of course, it takes time. Everything does.
Out of all of your capabilities, what is one skill you’re most proud of — or very useful — in your life?
To accept differences. Most of the times, you work with various people from diverse background. That’s inevitable. You need to accept the fact that you can have different stand points, but at the same time to always find ways to work together, or mutual agreement. That’s the one thing you need to do, pretty much, everywhere.
What is the one thing that you’re most grateful for about your career path?
I’m grateful that I have the chance to work in various locations, with diverse people in diverse situation. I always get to learn from different case studies, different communities, different situations. This has evolved me to a person who can adapt working with anyone, anywhere, anytime. The varieties of my working experience — that’s what I like the most.
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