Tag - plastic-waste

 
 

PLASTIC WASTE

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 6, 2020
South Korean 'sparrows' try to cap surge of throwaway plastic
At a workshop in Seoul, two environmental activists melt down old plastic bottle caps that thousands of volunteers known as "sparrows" have collected in a bid to fight a tide of plastic the novel coronavirus has helped unleash.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2020
Plastic pollution flowing into oceans to triple by 2040, study says
The new research offers solutions that could cut the projected volume of plastic entering the ocean by more than 80 percent.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 18, 2020
Pandemic negates Japan’s bid to reduce plastic waste
Plastic is one of the cheapest, most effective materials for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 1, 2020
Japan's new plastic bag charge: What it means for consumers and the environment
The new rule is aimed at reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in the country's rivers, forests, streams and, ultimately, surrounding oceans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 18, 2020
It’s 2020: Time for Japan to end its reliance on PET bottles
Japan's intricate approach to packaging — matryoshka-like, within layers of plastic and paper — used to seem charming. In 2020, however, it now just feels annoying and wasteful.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2020
Plastics had been falling out of favor. Then came the coronavirus
It took one week after the first U.S. case of COVID-19 with no overseas connection for Starbucks Corp. to temporarily ban customers from bringing in reusable coffee mugs.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / The Climate Crisis
Jan 11, 2020
Throwaway society: Rejecting a life consumed by plastic
How much single-use plastic do you think you consume in an average week living in Japan?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2019
Minimum charge for plastic bags at Japanese shops from July: ¥1
The government on Friday revised ordinances of four relevant ministries to oblige retailers to charge a fee for issuing plastic shopping bags from July 1.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2019
In 'Star Wars' economy, one thing doesn't pay
Junkyards and scavengers are everywhere in the series. So why do they waste so much valuable scrap?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 22, 2019
Massive increase in concentration of microplastics seen on beach facing Japan's Ise Bay
Some 60,000 particles of microplastics per square meter — meaning one particle per 16 square millimeters — are estimated to exist at Nasanohama beach on Toshi Island in Toba, Mie Prefecture, a study by Yokkaichi University professor Satoshi Chiba has revealed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2019
Why the plastic crisis matters
Humankind must find ways to get by without laying waste to the planet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 16, 2019
Plastic reuse the most efficient way to solve marine waste issue, experts say
Although marine plastic has become a prominent environmental issue in recent years, plastic is too valuable a resource to ever truly go away, so effectively managing such waste and placing it in a circular economy system would be the most efficient way to solve the issue, experts at a Tokyo seminar said...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Oct 11, 2019
Gifu women turn plastic waste found on beaches into accessories
Four women in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, are creating accessories made from plastic fragments collected at beaches in Aichi Prefecture, selling them amid growing global concerns over the microplastic waste in the ocean.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 26, 2019
Inventor Boyan Slat's mission: Shrink Great Pacific Garbage patch 90% by 2040
Boyan Slat, 25, is an ambitious social entrepreneur. His goal: Reduce 90 percent of an estimated 80 million kg of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean, covering an area more than three times the size of France, by 2040. And do it with a technology he likens to raking leaves.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2019
Get off the bandwagon of banning plastic bags
When used just once plastic bags can cause problems, but many people repurpose them.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2019
A call for healthy, blue oceans in Asia and the Pacific
Without action, the world's oceans will contain nearly 250 million tons of plastic by 2025.
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jul 27, 2019
'Waste: Consuming Postwar Japan': Japan's approach to waste is trash
In 'Waste: Consuming Postwar Japan,' Eiko Maruko Siniawer traces the evolution of Japanese values and aspirations from 1945 to the present through the lense of waste and waste consciousness.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan