Coca-Cola Japan to shoot for 90% recycled-content ratio in PET bottles
Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. said Friday it aims to raise the ratio of recycled material in the plastic bottles it uses to 90 percent by 2030, far above the global target set by its U.S. parent. The initiative, which compares with parent Coca-Cola Co.'s 2030 target ...
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 ...
Uniqlo operator to switch from plastic to paper bags worldwide from September
Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, said Wednesday it will switch from plastic to paper shopping bags from September, joining worldwide efforts to tackle what many believe is one of the most pressing environmental issues. Under the plan, the company aims ...
New Zealand bans single-use plastic bags, joining global fight against waste
New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags Monday, introducing hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them. Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern, with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals injured or killed every year by becoming entangled ...
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.
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. Constructed from various forms of household waste, including garbage ...
Tokushima Prefecture town aims to recycle all its waste
Plastic, paper, metal? In Kamikatsu, sorting rubbish isn't that simple. Residents face a mind-boggling 45 separate categories for their garbage as the town aims to achieve zero waste by 2020. And that's not all: There isn't even trash collection. The 1,500 residents of the town ...
Researchers say they may have identified a new kind of plastic pollution in the sea and they're calling it "plasticrust." Scientists working on Madeira, a volcanic Portuguese island off Northwest Africa, have found small patches of what looks like melted plastic encrusted on rocks along ...
Ministop begins charging for plastic bags at two Chiba stores
Major convenience store operator Ministop Co. started an experiment this week to charge for plastic bags at two of its stores in Chiba Prefecture amid heightened environmental awareness worldwide and the government's policy to ban free plastic bags. The experiment began Monday at two stores ...
Seven-Eleven Japan to wrap its billions of rice balls in bioplastic
Convenience store operator Seven-Eleven Japan Co. said Monday it will start selling all of its rice balls in wraps made of biomass plastics, possibly from July, as it aims to reduce the use of fossil-fuel-derived materials. The company's move, affecting the some of 2.2 billion ...
Gyoza no Ohsho to ban plastic straws and spoons from July in bid to address environmental concerns
Ohsho Food Service Corp., the operator of the Gyoza no Ohsho chain of Chinese-style restaurants, said Tuesday it will stop supplying customers with single-use plastic straws and spoons at all of its 729 restaurants from July to address environmental concerns. From July 1, the chain, ...
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. In late May, the Malaysian government said it would send 3,000 tons of plastic waste back to 14 countries ...
