Tag - plastic

 
 

PLASTIC

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
Aug 22, 2019
Japan's Environment Ministry plans to boost ocean cleanup budget in bid to tackle plastic waste
The Environment Ministry plans to substantially increase its budget for reducing plastic waste in the ocean in fiscal 2020, in line with an action plan adopted by relevant Cabinet ministers in May, informed sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 15, 2019
Microplastic found even in remote Arctic ice
Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in ice cores drilled in the Arctic by a U.S.-led team of scientists, underscoring the threat the growing form of pollution now poses to marine life in even the remotest waters on the planet.
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.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jul 27, 2019
Indonesia plans new regulations to curb rise in imports of plastic waste
Indonesia plans tighter rules to combat a surge in imports of plastic waste, such as a registry of trash exporters and tougher border checks, officials said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 6, 2019
Japan faces an uphill battle to reduce plastic consumption
Anyone following recent coverage of the worldwide plastic waste crisis may note a contradiction in the reporting on Japan's place in the discussion. On the one hand, Japan boasts a very high plastic recycling rate owing to local governments' sorting rules, which are some of the strictest in the world....
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 30, 2019
G20 world leaders agree on some issues, but significant gaps remain following Osaka summit
World leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Osaka reached consensus on a number of topics but failed to come to an agreement on others.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G20 Osaka
Jun 26, 2019
Odds of sweeping deal slim, Japan to use Osaka G20 to tackle plastic waste problem one step at a time
When international delegates arrived at Karuizawa Station for the Group of 20 environment ministers' meeting earlier this month, they were greeted by local schoolchildren, bilingual volunteers — and a wild boar the size of an elephant.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jun 23, 2019
Here's to good old household items
Manufacturing in Japan has had a lot to contend with since its latter Showa Era (1926-1989) golden years. With so many cheaper imports available, locally made everyday items are becoming increasingly harder to find. But there are some manufacturing stalwarts out there who are surviving and surprisingly producing the same ubiquitous items they always have.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2019
Canada in talks with Malaysia about taking back plastic waste
The government of Canada said on Monday it is in discussions with Malaysia about retrieving plastic waste that originated from Canada and is currently in Malaysia.

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