Waste Combat Hero Unit Drama 'Wakerun-ja' a Hit

Copyright Fukui City

A new public relations project for separated waste collection started by Fukui City on April 1, 2003 has been winning popularity. The project was launched to inform all residents of the City - from children to adults - about separated waste collection. Fukui separates waste into three types - plastic containers and packages, paper containers (boxes) and corrugated boxes.

More than 100,000 tons of waste, equivalent to 1,106g per resident per day, was generated in the Fukui City in fiscal 2001. The City started separated collection as a measure to reduce waste, and aims to achieve a recycling rate of 31 percent by 2011.

To effectively separate waste, the city first needed to clearly inform the public about the new waste separation policy and methods, as well as the importance of recycling. In addition to organizing explanatory meetings and distributing leaflets, city officials explored new, more effective approaches and decided to plan and produce a TV drama starring action heroes like those commonly popular with children.

The heroes of the City-produced drama are the "Wakerun-ja" ("wakeru" means to sort), a team of five brave fighters who promote waste reduction and recycling. In the story, the Wakerun-ja, who sport the city¡Çs waste separation logo on an armband, fight against "Gominga" ("gomi" means waste), a monster born out of waste that interferes with the new separation system.

City officials were initially concerned as they had no specific budget to produce the drama. However, they managed to reduce costs by doing most of the work themselves, from script writing and casting to costume-making, and successfully started broadcasting the drama on April 2. The drama elicited a great response and produced floods of inquires from local residents, other city governments and the media. The program has been rerun on local cable television. Production of the second episode is currently underway.



Posted: 2003/06/23 09:42:16 AM
Japanese version