Tag - recycling

 
 

RECYCLING

Identifying a sustainable product can involve evaluating claims about emissions, plastic use, water waste and packaging recyclability.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 19, 2023
Regulators are trying to stop greenwashing before it gets worse
The range of agencies tackling dubious sustainability claims is indicative of its ambiguity and breadth.
A municipality worker collects garbage, most of which is plastic and domestic waste, along the shore of Jakarta.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 4, 2023
Trash to treasure: Indonesian firm turns plastic into bricks
The company mixes volcanic ash, mountain stones, plastic waste and cement to make its bricks, which do not contain sand like regular ones.
A clothing packaging warehouse near Barcelona last month
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 1, 2023
Fast fashion firms prepare for EU crackdown on waste mountain
Fast fashion, or making and selling cheap clothes with a short lifespan, is "highly unsustainable," the European Commission said in July.
The Environment Ministry plans to launch a survey in fiscal 2024 on how manufacturers recycle plastics and metals contained in industrial waste.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2023
Japan to conduct survey on closed-loop recycling
Closed-loop recycling is spreading in recent years on the back of improvements in technology to remove impurities from recyclable waste.
Children hold baseball bats made with aluminum from scrapped bullet trains on Thursday in Tokyo.
BASEBALL
Aug 17, 2023
Bats made from scrapped bullet train metal to go on sale in October
The bats are scheduled to go on sale on Railway Day and come in three designs.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 3, 2023
Norway's quest for 'black gold' from used car batteries
An essential part of many clean energy technologies, 'critical minerals' may energize the transition to a decarbonized economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2023
A second life for EV batteries? Depends how long the first is.
Demand for used batteries for storage is likely to soar as intermittent renewable energy takes on a bigger role.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 26, 2023
The world is losing the 'war on plastic.' What can be done to curb waste?
The U.N. this month took a major step toward what could become the world’s first treaty to curb plastic pollution. But a recent report highlights the immense challenge that lies ahead.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2023
Abandoned houses providing a new source of valuable timber in Japan
In some areas, forlorn grand old houses remain as vestiges of the prosperous shipping and mining industries along the Sea of Japan route built during the Edo Period and Meiji Era.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jun 17, 2023
Japan’s young creators go to the mat for the tatami industry
This month, On: Design looks at a few innovations designed to recycle tatami waste and help revitalize the waning industry.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2023
How South Korea puts its food scraps to good use
South Korea, which banned food scraps from its landfills almost 20 years ago, now turns the vast majority of it into animal feed, fertilizer and fuel for heating homes.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 29, 2023
Recycling in focus as plastics treaty talks get underway in Paris
Many countries have said a goal of the treaty should be 'circularity' — or keeping already produced plastic items in circulation as long as possible.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2023
'Horizontal recycling' gives plastics a second life
Through the process, used plastic bottles and other items can be repeatedly recycled into the same thing without the need for new petroleum-derived materials.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 3, 2023
Aiming for zero waste, Hiroshima firms gear up for plastic recycling drive
A number of companies based in the prefecture are either developing their own recycling techniques or contributing to wider efforts to improve local environmental standards.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2023
Recycling offers hope to safeguard net zero goals despite soaring metal demand
Concerns are currently growing about the environmental impacts of mining and producing metals required for clean technologies, from damage to biodiversity to rising emissions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2023
From blush to crayons, cosmetics recycling on rise in Japan
Although harder to recycle than clothing, retailers and manufacturers are seeking ways to use old cosmetics in ways deemed less harmful to the environment.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 6, 2023
Is biodegradable better? Making sense of 'compostable' plastics.
Some fear these 'magical' solutions could lead to further environmental havoc and even encourage more wasteful consumption.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 28, 2023
The EU is cracking down on plastic. Will others follow?
The European Commission has proposed sweeping packaging regulations, requiring product packaging in the EU to be easier to reuse, recycle or in some cases, compost.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Feb 18, 2023
Roger Dahl on garbage separation
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2023
How to power a plane with leftover Chinese hot pot
Responsible for around 2% of the world’s total emissions of planet-warming gases, the aviation industry is under pressure to find greener ways to power its jet engines.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals