Ritsuko Hirooka, a housewife featured in the "House of Garbage" episode, faces significant disruption when her home is mistakenly identified as a garbage disposal site. This begins with a large box of unwanted items left at her house. The situation escalates daily as the wife of her husband Yoshio's boss continues leaving boxes, believing the location is an official disposal area.

Ritsuko discovers the discarded items are actually treasured mementos from the boss's travels. Confronting the misunderstanding proves difficult due to the boss and his wife's persistent false belief. Despite her frustration and confusion, Ritsuko and Yoshio feel compelled to preserve the items and return them discreetly, fearing open conflict could jeopardize Yoshio's hinted-at promotion.

The Hirookas endure weeks of collecting and returning boxes. During a brief pause, Ritsuko encounters the boss's wife in town and receives an apology, believing the dumping has stopped. However, the very next day, all remaining boxes are dumped at once. With Yoshio away on a business trip with his boss, Ritsuko attempts to return the boxes alone but collapses from exhaustion. Her father-in-law then takes the boxes to an actual landfill. Ritsuko and Yoshio later rush to the landfill in a desperate attempt to recover the items, encountering the boss and his wife there. The misunderstanding is finally resolved openly at the landfill site.

Ritsuko is married to Yoshio Hirooka. They have two children, Kenta and Ami, and live with Yoshio's father. Her father-in-law occasionally mocks her suspicions about the trash situation, suggesting conspiracies. Ritsuko also makes a brief cameo appearance in the episode "The Merchant of Romance," seen carrying items at night.