Japan will urge people to carry their own chopsticks instead of using disposables and to shop with their own bags instead of using plastic ones in a bid to more than halve the garbage it produces.
The Cabinet approved a set of plans Tuesday to promote a recycling society, said Tsuyoshi Kawakami, an official in charge of recycling at the Environment Ministry.
Japan aims to reduce the total amount of garbage produced by both industries and individuals by 60 percent of what it produced in fiscal 2000 to 25.3 million tons by fiscal 2015, according to the plan posted on the ministry's Web site. Fiscal 2008 begins April 1.
The reduction target for individuals is 20 percent.