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News Quitting single-use plastic in Japan

thomas

Unswerving cyclist
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Production of plastic bottles in Japan has jumped to a staggering 23.2 billion annually; Japan generated 32.4kg of plastic packaging waste per capita (2014); Japan is the largest exporter of plastic waste: the country exported 820,000 tonnes of plastic waste to South East Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan – roughly 46% of the total, etc. etc.

Japan recycles an impressive 85% of its plastic waste. Still, it is a challenge to curb the generation of packaging waste when you live in Japan. BBC correspondent Melinda Joe embarked on her private plastic challenge, trying to cut out single-use plastic over the course of a week.


To significantly reduce my plastic waste, I focused on limiting packaging, first by cutting back on lunchtime takeaway, which frequently comes in plastic containers, and refraining from shopping online. Still, excessive packaging is the norm in Tokyo. Shop clerks commonly wrap glass jars in bubble wrap or place loose vegetables in plastic bags automatically at checkout. Japan's obsession with packaging has cultural roots related to concepts of "presentation and respect, especially when giving gifts," says Azby Brown, author of Just Enough: Lessons from Japan for Sustainable Living, Architecture, and Design. The tradition of wrapping objects conveys "the regard you have for the other person." In the modern retail context, packaging indicates good customer service: "Customers expect it," Brown says. "People want to know that the food is protected, not bruised or soiled. The notion of cleanliness is very important here."

It's also worth looking at Japan's neighbours: South Korea has taken firm action to combat an 18.9% increase in plastic waste brought on by lifestyle changes related to the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021. Last September, the government pledged to reduce plastic use by 2030 and aims to become a plastic-free society by 2050.



Links:


No Plastic Japan

Nue

Bulk shopping in Tokyo

An app with maps of refilling stations around central Tokyo

Plastic Waste Management Institute
 
In Chicago there is now a plastic bag "tax". If you want one you have to pay for it. It has helped cut down on the number of plastic bags you see around. Starting early this year this effort against disposable plastic was expanded to include single use plastic utensils that you would usually be given with takeout. There is no tax for them but now they need to be specifically requested.

The bag change was several years ago now, and really it wasn't a big deal as we shop at Aldi and you always had to pay for bags anyway ( they are fairly heavy duty and not single use ) and we switched to using cloth bags almost exclusively. The cloth bags are easier and more comfortable to carry, especially with heavy groceries.

As far as Japan goes, I think starting with shopping bags would be a good way to go. Carrying a reusable bag around with you is pretty simple and I have seen some that fold up very compactly, usually nylon bags, so it wouldn't take much space either. The packaging for stuff is another thing entirely. I have always enjoyed the fact that its easy to open everything, but oh my is there a lot of unneeded packaging for a lot of things.

Edit: Fixed typo
 
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Japan passed a law fairly recently making it obligatory to charge for plastic bags, which has cut the number of stray plastic bags floating around. As far as I can see, nothing is being done to reduce the amounts of other plastic waste, or indeed address anything. The cynic in me says that all of this talk about SDGs in Japan is just that - a way that people can feel reassured that someone somewhere is tackling environmental issues without taking a hard look at their own lifestyles or our dependence on fossil fuels, which will be necessary to avoid climate collapse.
 
I did notice far more solar installations this time when I was in Japan. So that I am sure is helping to some extent. Actually, it seems like this has been improving in a lot of places. I would like to see even more renewable energy sources and also more electric vehicles and charging stations for them. Electric buses would be nice too.

As far as the average person, they are scattered across the spectrum all the way from not caring about the environment at all to going overboard and taking it to an extreme that is just not sustainable either. I think most people are somewhere in the middle and willing to do what they can within reason by recycling and trying to respect the environment.
 
Having previously complained about a lack of action, today I came across some newly announced environmental policies and sensible ones too!

However, I've also seen a lot of policy announcements that came to nothing during Abe's era (except for the ones that increased state power), so I'm only very cautiously optimistic.
 
However, I've also seen a lot of policy announcements that came to nothing during Abe's era (except for the ones that increased state power), so I'm only very cautiously optimistic.

Yes, they always "mull", "consider", and "plan" and then opt for something half-arsed that comes at double the price (à la Olympics). Here, they are definitely on the right track.

In the not too distant future we should see this technology getting deployed at scale.

This is brilliant! (y)
 
With the rising awareness of Japan's plastic packaging and waste problem, some shops have started allowing customers to bring reusable containers. Shoppers can buy food and other items by weight or volume, reducing the amount of plastic packaging they take from the supermarket.

One example is the speciality store Poco Mucho in Fukuoka, which sells some 200 food items and daily necessities by weight, such as smoked pistachios at 80 yen per 10 grams and peanut butter at 55 yen for the same amount.


Another example is a campaign initiated by stores in the Hagoromo Shopping District in Tachikawa, promoting incentives to encourage customers to bring their shopping bags and containers.

Among big retailers, Lawson Inc. sells candy and daily necessities by volume at 10 of its Lawson or Natural Lawson convenience stores in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures. Kao Corp., a top toiletry and cosmetics manufacturer, has begun a trial in which it sells detergents and fabric softeners by volume at some drugstores in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures. Fruit retailer Dole Japan Inc. has set up spaces in supermarkets in Tokyo and surrounding areas to sell bananas by weight.

Having consumers measure the weight of food items has been a common practice in overseas supermarkets for decades. In the case of the store initiative in Tachikawa, both customers and shops take eco-friendly shopping already for granted.

 
If they are selling peanut butter at 550 yen for 100g, then it's not going to spread beyond the wealthy and environmentally concerned - others will see it as an overpriced gimmick.
 
If they are selling peanut butter at 550 yen for 100g, then it's not going to spread beyond the wealthy and environmentally concerned - others will see it as an overpriced gimmick.

I guess it's the novelty and speciality shops that pick up first on new trends, and - hopefully - bigger and big biz will follow later.

I'm curious what the peanut butter dispenser looks like and what kind of personal containers you can bring to put it in.

They just mention "reusable containers" (再利用容器). According to their website, they also sell their own containers or use those their suppliers provide.
 
I'm curious what the peanut butter dispenser looks like and what kind of personal containers you can bring to put it in.
I was actually wondering that as well. Do they just spatula it in? I can see this being done for a lot of things but peanut butter isn't one of them.

I was actually surprised that bananas weren't sold by weight already, but I really shouldn't have been as I bought some when I was there this time. I guess I just didn't pay attention. 🤷‍♂️
 
I was actually wondering that as well. Do they just spatula it in? I can see this being done for a lot of things but peanut butter isn't one of them.
My guess is that there's a machine like a soft ice cream machine that spits out the peanut butter. I imagine if you line things up just right you can end up with fun shapes.
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