Drivers tossing urine bottles at Japan highway stops leave cleaners fuming

Urine-filled plastic bottles are being illegally discarded at highway parking and service areas throughout Japan, generating foul odors and raising safety concerns. On a warm June day, approximately 45 staff members from Central Nippon Expressway Co. and the Gifu Trucking Association, wearing fluorescent orange vests and carrying tongs, cleaned the Byobuzan Parking Area in Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture, on the Chuo Expressway that links Tokyo and Nagoya.

Among the trays and cans pulled from the bushes between the expressway and the parking area, transparent garbage bags containing 500-milliliter and 2-liter bottles of yellow and brown liquid were particularly noticeable.

The cleaners, who dubbed these bottles "golden PET bottles" due to their distinct color, managed to collect 35 bottles within an hour. One worker explained, "If left for days, it goes pssh and sprays like soda." Opening one of these bottles releases an immediate, strong odor reminiscent of an unattended outdoor toilet.

Large trucks frequently park near the shrubbery where these bottles are discovered. An official from Nexco Central, the highway operator, suggested that truck drivers may be tossing the bottles out of their higher windows during breaks to save time. Nexco Central has reported a surge in similar dumping incidents in Mie, Shiga, and Aichi prefectures, which the Meishin and Shin-Tomei expressways under its management traverse.

The company is collaborating with various trucking associations to conduct cleanups and disseminate leaflets promoting better behavior.

Aside from potentially violating Japan's waste disposal laws, the dumping of such bottles also presents a safety risk. Should one roll onto the expressway, a collision could occur. The Aichi prefectural police were clear: "Dumping objects on the road is illegal and extremely dangerous. Stop. Now."