Quitting single-use plastic in Japan (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

This is a rather long article about one shopper's personal experiences. It offers no magic bullets but is intended to raise awareness of the rate at which the problem is growing, and why some aspects of traditional culture are impediments to change.

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Every Tuesday morning when I take out the garbage, I see clear plastic rubbish bags stuffed with empty PET bottles stacked beside the blue recycling bins. In the ward of Tokyo where I live, the city sets out weekly collection bins for glass, aluminum, and plastic at designated points around the neighbourhood. By 8am, the bins are invariably full, but the volume of plastic bottle waste has been growing faster than municipal governments can effectively keep up with.

Production of plastic bottles in Japan has jumped to a staggering 23.2 billion per year, from 14 billion in 2004. While the country boasts advanced recycling technology, approximately 2.6 billion bottles are incinerated, sent to landfills, or lost to waterways and oceans annually.

Like most Tokyo residents, I'm fastidious about separating my rubbish and always dispose of plastic bottles in recycling bins. But single-use plastics – products primarily derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals which can only be used once – are difficult to avoid in the Japanese capital.

Vending machines selling drinks in plastic bottles line my street. At the three convenience stores located within five-minutes' walk from my apartment, the selection of single-serving, ready-to-eat items – such as bento lunchboxes and pouches filled with comfort foods like kinpira (burdock root and carrots cooked in sweetened soy sauce) – has expanded. At supermarkets, fruits cradled in polystyrene netting, packed into plastic cartons, and then wrapped in cling film are a common sight. In 2014, Japan generated 32.4kg (71lb) of plastic packaging waste per capita – second only to the United States, at 40kg (88lb) per capita.
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Looking for eco-friendly eateries around town, I discovered a list of takeout restaurants that allow customers to bring their own containers compiled by Mona Neuhaus, the founder of No Plastic Japan. Unfortunately, none were located near me. The same was true of a number of Tokyo shops selling food by weight. I was especially keen to check out Nue, the city's first zero-waste supermarket selling dried foods in bulk and produce without packaging. However, getting there would involve a 52-minute train and bus ride from my home.

Similarly, a trip to one of the Aeon supermarkets in Tokyo with a Loop deposit scheme for reusable containers would take me 38 minutes by train. While these provided great options for the occasional outing, none offered a practical solution for my daily needs. I do almost all of my grocery shopping on foot, within an 800m (2,625ft) radius of my house, so it doesn't make sense for me to travel across the city to buy food.
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more: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220823-quitting-single-use-plastic-in-japan

[multigraincracker]

1. Deposit glass bottles and hemp based paper wrappers.

This is not rocket science.
To survive, traditional culture must adapt to changes in its environment.