Chuo Ward Garbage
Collection Schedule
Official garbage collection days, designated bag requirements, and ward-specific facts for Chuo Ward (中央区), Kobe City. Population: 140,000 residents across 29.87 km².
Collection Schedule
Chuo Ward Ward Facts
Chuo Ward — Did You Know?
Chuo Ward contains both Nankinmachi (南京町) — one of Japan's three major Chinatowns, drawing approximately 10 million visitors per year — and the Kitano Ijinkan district (北野異人館街), historic Western-style residences from the late Meiji era when Kobe was Japan's premier international port. The ward has the city's highest foreign resident rate and the most multi-lingual waste guidance of any Kobe ward (English, Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Korean, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Spanish). Port Island (ポートアイランド), a man-made island within Chuo Ward, also hosts Kobe Airport and a concentration of biomedical research campuses — those facilities operate under strict healthcare-waste segregation rules entirely separate from residential schedules.
Resident Note
Port Island residents (ポートアイランド): most residential buildings have building-management waste systems (管理組合のごみルール) — waste rooms are inside buildings and open 24 hours. Nankinmachi area residents in mixed commercial-residential buildings should confirm with building management whether their floor is classified residential for waste purposes; commercial restaurant floors follow different rules.
Kobe City Designated Bags — Quick Reference
- Burnable waste: Kobe-designated burnable bag; official bag color is sky-blue semi-transparent.
- Non-burnable waste: Kobe-designated non-burnable bag; official bag color is transparent.
- Cans, bottles, PET bottles: Kobe-designated recyclables bag; official bag color is transparent.
- Plastic containers and packaging: Kobe-designated plastic-containers bag; official bag color is transparent.
Paper & cloth (古紙・古布) is a distinct monthly category unique to Kobe's system — newspapers, cardboard, and magazines must be tied in bundles with string and not placed in bags. Old clothing is bundled separately, same collection day.
Kobe City says prices are market prices set by retailers and the bag price does not include a disposal fee. Bags are sold at supermarkets, convenience stores, home centres, and drug stores across Kobe City. Spray cans and cassette gas cylinders use a separate see-through bag, not the non-burnable designated bag. Official source: Kobe City household designated bags.