Japanese government plans to reduce waste by 60%
18-APR-2008
Japan will urge citizens to carry their own chopsticks instead of using disposable ones and go shopping with their own bags instead of using plastic ones, in a bid to more than halve the waste it produces.
A set of plans to promote a recycling society has been approved according to Tsuyoshi Kawakami, an official in charge of recycling at the Environment Ministry. Japan aims to reduce the total amount of waste – produced by both industries and individuals – by 60% of the fiscal 2000 level to 25.3 million tons by fiscal 2015 under the plan posted on the ministry's website. The fiscal year begins in April in Japan.
The government target for individuals was a reduction of 20%. Shoppers in Japan normally receive multiple plastic and paper bags, while gifts are typically wrapped in elaborate packaging. Environmentalists have criticized the wide use of disposable wooden chopsticks in the country.
Elsewhere in Japan, Yokohama City and Lawson, Inc., a leading Japanese convenience store chain, have signed a waste reduction agreement for two years, fiscal 2007 and 2008. This is the first such agreement reached between the city and a convenience store chain.
Yokohama has been promoting a programme to reduce the city's waste volume by 30% compared to 2001 levels by 2010, the 'Yokohama G30 Waste Reduction Plan.' Toward this goal, the city concluded an agreement for the period from fiscal 2002 to 2006, called the 'Agreement on Eco-Friendly Activities for Reduction of Containers and Packages', with local supermarkets, department stores and consumers' co-operative stores to promote packaging waste reduction.
In fiscal 2007, this agreement was renamed the 'G30 Waste Reduction Eco-Partner Agreement', and the city is now pursuing the co-operation of convenience stores. Under the agreement, retailers must avoid unnecessary packaging and promote the recycling of paper cartons or food trays by collecting them in their stores.
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