The archive · Design & Visual · Product decision · 2025
Shinagawa Unyu relabels its garbage bags with the verbs 'burn' and 'don't burn'
Waste firm Shinagawa Unyu redesigned its business garbage bags to carry Japanese action verbs like 'moyasu (burn)' beside English state words.
Shinagawa Unyu
What it had to solve
Shinagawa Unyu is a Japanese waste collection, transport and disposal company that wanted to drive a recycling-oriented society from its own position in the chain. It renewed the design of the exclusive garbage bags it sells to contracted businesses.
How it works
Shinagawa Unyu collects, transports and disposes of waste, and wanted its own products to push a recycling-oriented society. The project began with the exclusive garbage bags the company sells to contracted businesses: a redesign that could change how disposal feels.
The bags were labelled with two kinds of language. Japanese was used for the human choice of action — 'Moyasu (burn)' or 'Moyasanai (don't burn)' — while English named the state of the waste, such as 'combustible' or 'incombustible'.
The simple, clean design was meant to transform 'take out the trash' from a negative emotion into a positive one, raising awareness and sympathy for environmental protection. The work entered the D&AD awards archive as packaging design.
Why it lands
- The bag was the one product where the company meets everyday behaviour, so redesigning it let a waste firm shape disposal itself.
- Verbs ask the person to choose 'burn' or 'don't burn', turning a routine chore into a conscious environmental act.
- Pairing Japanese action words with English state words made the labels work for both decision and identification.
- A clean, simple design gave the message quiet dignity instead of lecturing.
What it did
The redesign turns the moment of disposal into a small act of environmental awareness: reading a verb, the person at the bin chooses rather than merely disposes, raising awareness of and sympathy for environmental protection. The work entered the D&AD awards archive as packaging design.
What you can take
Even the most everyday object can carry a values message: put the language of choice where people act — a verb asking 'burn or don't burn' beats a noun naming a category.
Since then
The renewed Shinaun garbage bag entered the D&AD awards archive as packaging design work, giving a regional waste company's industrial packaging a place among international design. The design agency bluelake was credited as the entrant and design agency on the archived project.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card