We demand Mitaka City stop its amendment prohibiting the collect

【英語版】三鷹市の廃品回収禁止条例に反対です

Please spread the word. We are asking people to speak out against Mitaka City's amendment. Share this petition with your friends!

＝＝＝＝　　 Homeless man aluminum cans trashed in Inokashira Park ↑ ＝＝＝＝

We demand Mitaka City stop its amendment prohibiting the collection of recyclable waste!

In April this year, Mitaka City published its "Basic Stance on the Prohibition of Collecting Recyclable Items.” On the heels of Tokyo's “Policy to Abolish Used Paper Collection,” announced in June 2011, Mitaka City now plans to amend “The Ordinance on Promotion of Waste Management and Recycle of Mitaka City.”
According to the Basic Stance, Mitaka is going to amend (change for the worse) the ordinance on the following points:
1. Only Mitaka City and authorized waste dealers are allowed to collect and carry recyclable items (used paper, cans, bottles, and used clothes).
2. Those who collect/carry recyclable items without authorization will be warned and instructed by written documents.
3. Those who do not obey the instruction will be punished with a fine of 200,000 yen and their names publicized.
4. The amendment of the ordinance will be published in the official gazette.
5. After the ordinance is approved, the City will cooperate with Mitaka Police for its implementation.
6. Special attention will be directed towards patrol for enforcement.

　We demand that Mitaka City stops the above amendment for the following reasons:
1. Collection of recyclable items is the only source of income for homeless persons who have lost stable work due to illness, injury, age, or dismissal. It is hard for them to work in the formal sector once they have been driven to the street. Though collecting recyclable waste does not pay much, it is easy to start without any capital by learning from others. It provides a daily income that staves off hunger. Their survival is in peril if this livelihood is lost. Most persons on the streets today were dismissed due to corporate restructuring. What is worse is they cannot have little choice but to live on the streets since municipalities often deny them access to livelihood protection. In Mitaka, we have learned that applications for livelihood protection are not being processed. Many homeless people are also being shortchanged by City-recommended accommodation facilities that are deducting exorbitant amounts in fees from their livelihood protection payments without clarifying how the money is being used. The Mitaka Citizens' Charter says, “We the citizens of Mitaka shall create a city where people can help each other and share in the joy of life.” To realize that, the City should NOT exclude fellow homeless persons through this amendment of the ordinance.
2. Fellow homeless persons have built a good relationship with their neighbors. People know that homeless persons always greet them in a friendly manner and clean the streets after collecting waste. However, the City’s proposed amendment to the ordinance addresses “special attention” for enforcement. Once it is made official, anyone collecting waste will be seen as a law-breaker or “a public enemy” and face discrimination and increased irrational prejudice. From 2008-2009, there have been several incidents of homeless persons being attacked along Tamagawa River. In one case, the defendant stated in trial that he had learned that there was no value in a homeless person's life. This shows how discrimination can kill. The City should NOT amend this potentially inciteful ordinance.
3. Homeless people contribute to recycling. Our group, Yomawari Mitaka (Patrol Mitaka) collected aluminum cans trashed by groups of cherry blossom viewers in May last year. After we converted them into money, we donated it to the patrol group in Sendai, which was affected by the Tohoku Earthquake. They kept a soup kitchen open for homeless people and sent relief goods to disaster victims. In that sense, collecting cans has also helped to create a tangible link between homeless people in different regions. The poor, including homeless persons, can also contribute to recycling. Throughout history, poor people all over the world have played an important and unappreciated role in recycling and reuse. Mitaka City's oppression of poor and homeless persons here oppresses all people that make a living through collecting recyclable waste all over the world. This oppression must stop.

★Please add your name to our statement★　　
First deadline: May 17; Second deadline: June 4

Individual/Organization Name:
Can your name be made public? Yes / No

Please send the above information (name, etc) to:
Yomawari Mitaka
e-mail: arasi@mva.biglobe.ne.jp
Blog: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/yomawari-mitaka/

★Please write your own message of protest or fax it to Mitaka City
Mitaka City Waste Control Department
Telephone: +81-422-45-1151
Fax: +81-422-47-5196
E-mail: gomi@city.mitaka.tokyo.jp
ＨＰ：http://www.city.mitaka.tokyo.jp/foreign/english/001/002.html