If you are new to Fukuoka City, the first surprise is often the time: garbage collection happens at night, not in the morning. This guide covers when and how to put out each type of household garbage, how to find your own collection days, and what to do with bulky items.
In short
- Put out your garbage after dark on your collection day, and by midnight — not the next morning.
- Burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, and bottles/PET bottles each need Fukuoka City’s own designated bag.
- Collection days differ by area. Search your address on the city’s site (see “How do I find my collection days?”).
- Paper (newspaper, cardboard, mixed paper) is not put out with the bagged garbage — it goes to a neighborhood collection or a drop-off point.
- Bulky items (sodaigomi) need a paid ticket and a booking, not a bag.
Checked with official pages on 27 September 2026.
1. What time do I put out my garbage?
Fukuoka City
Fukuoka City says to put out burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, and bottles/PET bottles after dark on your collection day, and by midnight (24:00). A truck collects it overnight. Do not put your garbage out in the morning — there is no daytime collection, and bags left out in daylight are not on a truck’s route.
According to Fukuoka City, it is the only large city in Japan that collects household garbage at night across the whole city. The city says working late at night, when there is little traffic, is the most efficient way to collect it, and lists fewer traffic jams and less damage from crows and other animals among the benefits.
A Fukuoka City video (in Japanese) showing the night-time collection, from the city’s official YouTube channel:
2. How do I sort my garbage?
Fukuoka City
Fukuoka City sorts household garbage into a few main types. Each bagged type needs its own Fukuoka City designated bag, sold in sets of 10 at supermarkets and convenience stores that carry them.
| Type | What goes in it | How often it is collected |
|---|---|---|
| Burnable garbage | Kitchen waste, other household waste that burns | Twice a week |
| Non-burnable garbage | Glass, ceramics, metal, cans, small appliances | Once a month |
| Bottles & PET bottles | Glass bottles and PET bottles | Once a month |
| Bulky garbage (sodaigomi) | Items too large for a designated bag | By booking only |
Non-burnable garbage also includes spray cans, dry-cell batteries, and umbrellas and fluorescent tubes under 1 meter. Bottles and PET bottles means glass bottles for drinks, alcohol, seasonings and cosmetics, and PET bottles with the PET mark. Before bagging them, Fukuoka City asks you to remove caps and labels, rinse the inside, and crush PET bottles. Plastic caps and labels go in burnable garbage; metal caps go in non-burnable garbage. Paper is handled separately, not through these bags.
Note
From February 1, 2027, Fukuoka City will collect plastics separately, once a week at night. Items made only of plastic and under 50 cm go in a new light-blue city bag (45 L: ¥220 for 10 bags; 25 L: ¥120 for 10 bags), on sale from around December. PET bottles, dirty items and items with metal or rubber parts stay with the current rules. Until then, plastics go in burnable garbage. The city says it will announce the details, including collection days.
If you are not sure how to sort one item, Fukuoka City’s garbage separation search looks up individual items by name.
3. How do I find my collection days?
Fukuoka City
Collection days depend on your ward and neighborhood, not on a citywide calendar. Fukuoka City has seven wards: Higashi, Hakata, Chuo, Minami, Jonan, Sawara and Nishi.
- Open the city’s collection-day search. Use Garbage collection days.
- Choose your ward, then narrow it down by your town or area name.
- Check the result against your building. Some apartment buildings use a shared collection point with its own arrangement — ask your landlord or management office if you are unsure.
4. What about paper — newspaper, cardboard and mixed paper?
Fukuoka City
Paper is not collected in a designated bag with the other garbage. Fukuoka City collects household paper through neighborhood group collections (地域集団回収, chiiki shudan kaishu) run by local groups such as neighborhood associations, and at drop-off points. The drop-off points include resource collection boxes at nine public facilities, such as some ward offices, open daily from 9:00 to 17:00 except December 29 to January 3, and paper recycling stations at community centers (公民館, kominkan). Find the nearest one with the city’s recycle station search.
To put out paper, sort it into three bundles — newspaper (with flyers), cardboard, and other mixed paper — and cross-tie each bundle with string. Fukuoka City says to remove tape, plastic clasps and stickers from cardboard first. Ask your neighbors or landlord about the neighborhood collection schedule for your address, since it is set locally, not by the city.
5. How do I get rid of bulky items (sodaigomi)?
Fukuoka City
An item that does not fit inside a designated bag, or that would be too heavy to carry in one hand without the bag tearing, is bulky garbage (sodaigomi). It needs a booking and a paid ticket, not a bag.
- Apply by phone or online. Phone: 092-731-1153 (Monday–Saturday, 9:00–17:00, closed December 29 to January 3). Online: the bulky waste application site, available anytime. The city also takes applications through LINE.
- Get your fee and collection date. Fukuoka City sets the fee per item — ¥300, ¥500 or ¥1,000, depending on size, weight and type — and says collection is about a week after you apply.
- Buy a disposal ticket at a convenience store for the fee you were given, and write your reception number on it.
- Attach the ticket to the item and put it out at the agreed spot by 8:30 in the morning on your collection day. Unlike other garbage, bulky items go out in the morning, not at night.
Note
Fukuoka City also runs a carry-out service for people aged 65 or older, people with disabilities and others with a special need (such as pregnant women) who cannot carry the item to the collection spot. It costs ¥500 per item from inside the home or ¥300 from the entrance, on top of the disposal ticket. Apply by phone, and someone must be there when it is collected.
6. What happens over the New Year holiday?
Fukuoka City
Fukuoka City says collection stops for part of the New Year period. For burnable garbage, if your collection day falls between December 31 and January 3, put it out on your next scheduled day instead. Non-burnable garbage and bottles/PET bottles collections that fall in that window are moved to another day in December or January. Check the city’s collection-day search near the end of the year, since the exact make-up dates are set each year.
7. Common questions
Can I put my garbage out in the morning instead?
No. Fukuoka City collects burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, and bottles/PET bottles only at night. Put bags out after dark on your collection day and by midnight.
Do I need a designated bag for paper or bulky garbage?
No. Paper is bundled with string, not bagged, and goes through a neighborhood collection or a drop-off point. Bulky garbage needs a paid ticket, not a bag.
Where do I buy the designated bags?
Fukuoka City says they are sold in sets of 10, by type and size, at supermarkets and convenience stores that carry them (“designated bag handling stores”). Not every store carries every size, so check before you need one urgently.
What if I do not know what category an item belongs to?
Use Fukuoka City’s garbage separation search, which looks up individual items by name.
Sources (checked September 2026)
- Fukuoka City: Garbage and Recycling (multilingual site)
- Burnable garbage, Non-burnable garbage and Glass and plastic bottles
- Garbage collection days (search) and Garbage separation search (item list)
- Fukuoka City: How to put out household garbage (時間・料金・年末年始)
- Fukuoka City: Bulky waste (sodaigomi) application
- Fukuoka City: How to put out paper (古紙の出し方) and Resource collection boxes (資源物回収ボックス)
- Oversized trash, Fukuoka City: How to put out bulky garbage (粗大ごみの出し方) and Carry-out service (持ち出しサービス)
- Fukuoka City: Plastic sorting starts February 1, 2027 (プラスチック分別が始まります) and city newsletter article (来年2月からプラスチックの分別収集を開始します)
- Fukuoka Facts: Night-time collection of household waste and Fukuoka City: History of night-time collection (夜間収集の歴史)
