Garbage system in Japan

In Japan, almost everything is designed to save time, to be time-efficient. Even things such as salad dressing. I still remember the first time I went to McDonald's in Japan and I ordered a salad as a side. The dressing wasn't in a little package that you had to rip. That would be way too difficult. Instead, it came in a small container with little slits in the center. When you applied pressure on the corners of the package, the dressing bursts through the slits. I didn't know that back then. I tried different methods to try to open it before finally squirting my friend (who was unfortunate to be sitting in front of me) in the face.

Anyhow, this post isn't about salad dressing lol. Just to show how things in Japan are made to be user-friendly and time-efficient. But the garbage system in Japan is a different story.

Here's a picture to help explain:

This garbage bin is located in Tokai and it's one of the more simpler models. So on the left, we have the bin for aluminium and steel items. Then we have a place for plastic bottles. Next, are the moenai gomi, the items that can't be burned, and finally the moeru gomi, those that can. Now it makes sense to me... most of the time. But you should have seen me the first few months. I couldn't read the signs on the garbage yet and so I usually peered into the garbage to see if my item ressembled any of the items in that particular bin. And I swear, it isn't just me. I see many others, even Japanese, being uncertain as to where they should throw away their garbage. Can anybody tell me where does gum fit in there? In the non-combustible items bin?

Another thing about garbages in Japan is that there aren't enough. I don't know if there exists a ratio, for example 1 garbage bin for every 10 people, or maybe it's measured in surface area, 1 garbage bin for each 10 square meters. But it sometime takes quite a while in Japan to come accross one. Even in obvious places like public washrooms, they sometimes go missing in action.