zititai no kisoku ni ouzite, syobun no houhou wo kaemasu.

You’re right: standard Japanese normally does not use spaces between words.

This sentence would usually be written as:

自治体の規則に応じて、処分の方法を変えます。

Spaces are often added in textbooks or learning materials to help beginners see the word boundaries more clearly.

自治体 means local government, municipality, or local authority.

It refers to administrative units such as:

• cities
• towns
• villages
• prefectural/local governing bodies

So 自治体の規則 means the rules of the local government/municipality.

The particle の connects nouns and often works like of or a possessive ’s in English.

So:

• 自治体 = municipality / local government
• 規則 = rules

Together:

• 自治体の規則 = the municipality’s rules
• or more naturally, the rules of the local government

Here, の shows that the rules belong to or are associated with the municipality.

Good question. These words overlap, but they are not identical.

• 規則 = rules, regulations

  • often formal or official
  • can refer to institutional or administrative rules

• ルール = rules

  • borrowed from English
  • often used for everyday rules, game rules, informal systems, etc.

• 法律 = law

  • a legal statute at the national level
  • stronger and more formal than 規則

In this sentence, 規則 fits because it refers to official rules set by a local authority.

に応じて means something like:

• according to
• in accordance with
• depending on
• in response to

The basic verb is 応じる, which has the idea of responding to or matching something.

So 自治体の規則に応じて means:

• according to the municipality’s rules
• depending on the local government’s regulations
• in accordance with the rules of the local authority

It gives the standard or condition that determines what follows.

Because 応じる normally takes に for the thing being responded to or matched.

Pattern:

• X に 応じて Y
• Y changes/is done in accordance with X

So here:

• 自治体の規則に応じて = in accordance with the municipality’s rules

The に marks what the action is responding to.

処分 can have several meanings depending on context, such as:

• disposal
• handling
• treatment
• disciplinary action
• dealing with something

In this sentence, it most likely means disposal or how something is handled/disposed of.

So 処分の方法 is most naturally:

• the method of disposal
• how to dispose of something
• the way something is handled

The exact English wording depends on the larger context.

Because 方法 only means method/way in a general sense. It needs something to specify the method of what.

So:

• 方法 = method
• 処分の方法 = method of disposal / way of handling it

The の links the two nouns, just like in 自治体の規則.

Because 処分の方法 is the direct object of 変えます.

Breakdown:

• 処分の方法 = the method of disposal
• を = marks the direct object
• 変えます = change

So the sentence is saying that someone changes the method of disposal.

Even though 処分の方法 contains の, the whole phrase acts as one noun phrase, and を marks that entire phrase as the object.

This is a very common question.

• 変える = to change something

  • transitive
  • takes an object with を

• 変わる = something changes

  • intransitive
  • no direct object

Here the sentence has:

• 処分の方法を変えます = (someone) changes the disposal method

So 変える is correct because an agent is actively changing something.

If you used 変わります, the meaning would shift to:

• 処分の方法が変わります = the disposal method changes

That would describe the change happening, rather than someone making the change.

Japanese often leaves the subject unstated when it is obvious from context or not important.

So 変えます could mean:

• we change
• they change
• one changes
• the company changes
• the staff changes
• etc.

The subject has to be understood from the surrounding situation.

This omission is very normal in Japanese.

変えます is in the non-past polite form.

In Japanese, the non-past can mean:

• present habitual: change
• future: will change

So depending on context, this sentence could mean:

• We change the disposal method according to local regulations.
• We will change the disposal method according to local regulations.

Japanese does not force the same present/future distinction that English often does.

The comma simply separates the introductory phrase from the main clause:

• 自治体の規則に応じて、
• 処分の方法を変えます。

It makes the sentence easier to read.

It’s similar to English when we write:

• According to local regulations, we change the disposal method.

The comma is helpful, but punctuation in Japanese can be somewhat flexible.

Not exactly.

Both can sometimes be translated as depending on or according to, but they are used differently.

• に応じて emphasizes responding to, matching, or adjusting according to
• によって often means by, due to, depending on, or according to, but in a broader sense

In this sentence, に応じて is a very good fit because the idea is that the disposal method is adjusted in response to the municipality’s rules.

So it has a nuance of tailoring the method to the rules.

Yes, Japanese word order is somewhat flexible, especially with phrases like に応じて.

For example, you might also see:

処分の方法を、自治体の規則に応じて変えます。

This still means basically the same thing.

However, the original order:

自治体の規則に応じて、処分の方法を変えます。

sounds very natural because it presents the condition first, then the action.

Yes, it is polite and fairly formal.

Reasons:

• 変えます is the polite -ます form
• words like 自治体, 規則, 処分, and 方法 are formal or administrative in tone

This sounds like something you might see in:

• official notices
• workplace instructions
• administrative explanations
• public guidance documents

It does not sound casual.

A plain-style version would be:

自治体の規則に応じて、処分の方法を変える。

That changes 変えます to 変える.

This could be used in:

• written explanations
• notes
• dictionary-style examples
• less polite speech

But in many real-life public or business contexts, the -ます version is more natural.

It breaks down like this:

• 自治体の規則に応じて
  = according to / in accordance with the municipality’s rules

• 処分の方法を
  = the method of disposal

• 変えます
  = change / will change

So the structure is:

[condition/standard] + [object] + [verb]

This is very typical Japanese word order:

• background or condition first
• main object next
• verb at the end

Yes. 処分 is a broad word.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• disposal of trash or materials
• handling or treatment of an item
• getting rid of something
• disciplinary punishment or official action against someone

So when you see 処分, you should always check the context.

In a sentence involving local regulations, it very often refers to disposal/handling, especially for waste, materials, or specific items.