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"Student Reports" are a series that shares glimpses of campus life, where diverse people gather and learn in various ways, along with the students' own insights and growth. This time, Inoue from the Rotary Club (an officially recognized student club) reports on their efforts to solve the garbage problem in front of Takadanobaba Station!

"We want to improve the waste problem after WASEDASAI, even just a little."

Secretary-General of the Rotary Club
Honoka Inoue, 3rd year student, School of Law

WASEDASAI 2026 will be held on November 7th and 8th. But are you aware of a certain problem that occurred behind the scenes at last year's WASEDASAI?

In front of Takadanobaba Station is a plaza called "Takadanobaba Station Front Rotary," a popular gathering place for Waseda University students. Our Rotary Club is an officially recognized student club that aims to solve the problem of litter scattered around this rotary.

早稲田祭2025開催後のロータリーには早大生が多く集まり、一晩で400本以上の空き缶が捨てられていました。空き缶以外にも多くのごみが散乱しており、その様子がネットで拡散され、話題になりました。私たちは、学生がロータリーに集まり仲間と過ごすこと自体を否定したいわけではありません。ただ、せっかく年に1度のお祭りをやり抜き、その思い出に最後の最後で暗い影を落としてしまうのは、もったいないように思います。

The scene of trash scattered around the rotary the day after WASEDASAI 2025.

Therefore, for WASEDASAI 2026, in addition to our usual activities such as cleaning the rotary, we planned to use video to visually raise awareness of the issue. We decided to involve not only the rotary but also the university and the local community in the video production. When we approached other student club that we usually work with, the community-oriented student club" Match Work Group Waseda" and the environmental student club" Environment Rodrigues" (both officially recognized student club) agreed to cooperate with us.

The video conveys the issue of waste management through interviews with well-known figures within the university. Leveraging the connections of the "Match Work Group Waseda," the interviews feature prominent Waseda figures, including former President Aiji Tanaka, discussing environmental issues and WASEDASAI. In addition to addressing the rotary issue, the video also includes a segment on the "New Student Recruitment Flyer Collection Action" undertaken by "Environment Rodrigues," showcasing their efforts to address the problem of student club recruitment flyers scattered across campus during the new student recruitment period.

A scene from a video scheduled to be shown at WASEDASAI 2026. Tin Masao of "Musashino Abura Gakukai" made an appearance.

By incorporating elements like interviews, we believe we've created a video that's not just a simple warning, but also entertaining to watch. The video is scheduled to be shown on various screens during WASEDASAI.

In fiscal year 2026, we also focused on building connections with the local community, regularly conducting collaborative cleanups with businesses, restaurants, and schools in the Waseda and Takadanobaba areas. We hope that this activity will foster a sense of ownership throughout the community. We are happy to build relationships with various organizations, and we also find it very meaningful as we often gain insights and learn new things ourselves. Most recently, when we cleaned with students from the Tokyo Confectionery School in Takadanobaba, we were deeply moved to see students of the same age, despite attending different schools, working so hard on volunteer activities.

Scenes from the evening cleaning of the rotary, which takes place every Friday at 10 PM.

As a result of this collaboration, at WASEDASAI 2026, students from Tokyo Confectionery School, who dedicate themselves to baking sweets every day, will be selling financiers at the Rotary Club's stall. We are delighted that our relationship has deepened to the point where we can realize such a collaboration.

今回のような早稲田祭への取り組みに携わり、ごみ問題について多角的な視点で考えられるようになりました。他団体と一緒に映像を制作し、それぞれの団体の経験を生かすことで、自分たちだけではできなかった企画を実現できました。また、東京製菓学校とのコラボでは、同じ地域で活動する者同士のつながりの面白さや、縁の深さを感じています。

今後も早稲田祭2026の本番に向けて、取り組みを進めていきます。一つ一つの活動を積み重ねることで、今年の早稲田祭後のごみ問題が少しでも改善されるよう、会員一同、力を合わせて頑張りたいです。

​We signed a memorandum of understanding with Shinjuku Ward regarding environmental beautification in front of Takadanobaba. We received a letter of appreciation from Sato, head of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division of the Shinjuku Ward Environmental Cleaning Department! I am the second person from the right.