There are even individual bins for plastic bottles and caps. But that's only a handful of the 34 categories that Kamikatsu residents have to sort their trash into, according to a short documentary by Seeker Stories.

It may seem like an overkill, but the small Japanese town, with a population of just over 1,700, is on a mission to become the country's first 'zero-waste' community by 2020. And, they're almost there. According to the video, Kamikatsu already recycles about 80 percent of its trash, with the last 20 percent going into a landfill. That progress is 12 years in the making. In 2003, Kamikatsu declared its zero-waste ambition after the town gave up the practice of dumping trash into an open fire for fear of endangering both the environment and the population.

There are no garbage trucks, so each resident has to wash, sort, and bring their trash to the recycling center—which residents admit took some time getting used to. A worker oversees the sorting process at the center, making sure trash goes into the right bins. Some used items are taken to businesses to be resold or repurposed into clothing, toys, and accessories.