How to Dispose of New Year's Cards in Japan? Do They Get Collected?
Over time, received New Year's cards can take up more storage space than expected. This article explores how to dispose of New Year's cards in Japan and points to consider when doing so.
Posted at: 2021.7.19
Table Of Contents
Main Methods for Disposing of New Year's Cards in Japan
Recycling as Waste Paper
When it comes to disposing of paper waste, you usually either throw it away as "burnable garbage" or recycle it as "waste paper." So, which category do New Year's cards fall into?
This can vary by municipality, but New Year's cards are often classified as "miscellaneous paper" within the waste paper category.
Miscellaneous paper refers to household waste paper that does not fall into the categories of newspapers (including inserts), magazines, cardboard, or paper cartons. Examples include unwanted flyers, pamphlets, copier paper, packaging paper, paper boxes, memo paper, notebooks, envelopes, letters, plastic wrap cores, paper bags, etc.
What is Miscellaneous Paper Recycled with Waste Paper? | Adachi City
However, New Year's cards printed by printing services may have laminated backs, which cannot be recycled as waste paper. In such cases, they should be disposed of as burnable garbage.
Shredding and Disposing as Burnable Garbage
Some people prefer to shred New Year's cards to protect personal information before disposing of them. Shredded New Year's cards are usually considered burnable garbage.
It's important to note that while shredding 100 cards might not take much time or effort, shredding 1,000 cards in a day could be labor-intensive and might even break a cheap shredder due to paper jams or motor overheating.
Given the significant effort and cost involved in shredding large quantities of New Year's cards, it might be more cost-effective to use a professional document disposal service for large volumes.
Few Dedicated Collection Services for New Year's Cards
There used to be collection boxes for New Year's cards at post offices, but these services are no longer available. While the reason for their discontinuation is unclear, it's easy to imagine that the personal information (addresses and names) on New Year's cards makes casual collection impractical from a privacy protection standpoint.
Points to Consider When Disposing of New Year's Cards
Conceal Personal Information
New Year's cards contain:
- Your address and name
- The sender's address and name
Sometimes they may also include phone numbers, making them sensitive personal information. Take utmost care to prevent this information from leaking when disposing of New Year's cards.
Common methods to protect personal information include:
- Using a personal information protection stamp
- Shredding the cards
- Hiring a professional document disposal service
For disposing of a few dozen New Year's cards, using a protection stamp to conceal personal information and recycling them as waste paper is best.
If disposing of hundreds of cards, a personal information protection stamp might not be cost-effective due to ink consumption. In such cases, buying a shredder could be more convenient and cost-effective.
For more than 1,000 cards, hiring a professional document disposal service is best. Although it might be expensive, considering the labor involved in hiding personal information on 1,000 cards, the cost-performance ratio is favorable.
Record the Addresses of Recipients
If you can recall the addresses of family and relatives without reference, it's fine. However, for friends, acquaintances, and business partners, you might only write their addresses once a year.
Some people check last year's New Year's cards when addressing new ones. If you don't record the addresses before disposing of the cards, you might lose this information.
Asking for addresses again can be awkward and may cause misunderstandings or offense. Therefore, make sure to record addresses and names before disposal.
Check the Lottery Numbers on New Year's Cards
New Year's cards often include lottery numbers for prizes from Japan Post. The lottery drawing usually takes place around July of the following year, so be sure to check the numbers before disposing of the cards.
You could miss out on significant prizes, such as 300,000 yen in cash for a first-place win, if you don't check.