Not everyone gives in to today's throwaway society by discarding the drinking cups, food containers and chopsticks they use, but the proliferation of these products makes their use virtually unavoidable.
When it comes to throwaway cups, however, visitors to the Big Eye stadium at Oita Prefecture Sports Park no longer need to fret this option.
On March 15, the 36,000-seat stadium, one of the venues used during the 2002 World Cup soccer finals, started only selling drinks in reusable cups on which consumers pay a deposit -- a first for such a large-scale venue, according to the Environment Ministry.