A new law in Japan requires businesses to switch to biodegradable plastic alternatives or be prepared to charge customers who use disposable plastics.
The new regulations will come into effect in April next year, and retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, dry cleaners, laundries and pizza delivery companies will be required to comply.
The series of disposable plastic tableware to be phased out includes knives, forks, combs, shower caps and hangers.
Companies that produce more than 5 tons of designated products will be required to reduce output.
Japan’s new legislation is a way to force companies to contribute to the country’s promise to double the recycling rate by 2030.
Business owners who refuse to comply with the new regulations may be fined 500,000 yen (4,500 U.S. dollars).
The bill is not fully completed, but it will provide guidelines for manufacturers to design more sustainable plastic products.
Some chain restaurants have already expressed opposition to the single-use plastic regulations stipulated by the new law, saying that their economic survival during the epidemic depends on increasing take-out orders, and take-out orders will naturally come with free disposable tableware.
Japan's Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will issue final regulations after public consultations this fall.
Disposable plastics are still proliferating in Japan. For example, retailers used to pack fresh fruits such as apples into foam sleeves, or pack food and beverages into separate plastic shopping bags. This has a lot to do with the local people's belief that plastic packaging products are cleaner, safer, and more high-end. In Thailand, another Asian country that has attracted much attention for forming a plastic disposable society, this concept is also spreading rapidly.
Japan’s recycling rate is as high as 84%, but this has nothing to do with the fact that 70% of plastic waste is converted into energy, which will only amplify carbon emissions.
