Conservation, Recycling and reusing in daily life

Ironically, the term recycling did not exist in the Japanese language at this time, since recycling most items was simply part of daily life. In pre-modern society, a lot of materials we think of as commonplace now didn't exist, making recycling a much more feasible task. What were some of the ways Japan found to recycle and reuse materials?

Most households used a plaster clay kamado oven, which could run easily with virtually any twigs or wood scraps, giving it good fuel economy. People used metal pans and kettles for cooking. If they ended up with holes in them, people wouldn't just through them out. Instead, ikakeya (鋳掛屋, tinkers) would weld the hole shut. If a piece of metalware really had reached the end of its lifespan, then it could be disassembled and turned into smaller metal tools, such as blades, straps, and hooks.

Meals of course required a lot of hot water. During the warmer time of the year, people would intentionally leave jars filled with water outside during the day so that they could absorb the sun's heat, and would require less fuel to heat in the evening for tea, cooking, and the occasional hot bath. Afterwards, any leftover water could be put into the wastewater pond so they could use it later in the garden or rice paddy.

Believe it or not, the Edo period actually had a very vibrant reading culture. The literacy rate among the peasants was around 60%, making it possible to disseminate agricultural knowledge. When books were no longer wanted, they could be resold, and the paper could also be recycled to make bathroom tissue or printing paper. Some people would also pick up paper scraps they found on the streets and sell them to warehouses for cash.

All households needed clothing, and there wasn't any mass production going on at this time, so all clothing was handmade and quite expensive. Something really interesting you might notice about Japanese clothing is the square shape, including the sleeves. Not only does this making folding easier, but it also prevents wasting any precious fabric. Reselling clothes was very common at this time, and records show that there may have been around 4,000 used clothes shops in Edo alone!