Tag - plastic

 
 

PLASTIC

Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2020
Plastics had been falling out of favor. Then came the coronavirus
It took one week after the first U.S. case of COVID-19 with no overseas connection for Starbucks Corp. to temporarily ban customers from bringing in reusable coffee mugs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 2, 2020
In bid to mend Pacific ties, Australia legislates greater recycling use
Australia will require government departments to use more recycled products, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, as Canberra looks to repair ties with Pacific island nations despite a refusal to step up efforts on global warming.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 1, 2020
Dispatches from the front line of Japan's retail sector
Since October, business media have focused on two topics at the near-exclusion of numerous others: the economic repercussions of the consumption tax hike and how that increase has influenced, or accelerated, a shift from cash to electronic payments.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2020
Japan should feel the temperature at Davos
The sense of urgency to create a more sustainable human existence must be shared across the world, including Japan, which failed to send any policymakers to Davos this year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2020
Adidas to launch new fabrics from recycled ocean plastic and polyester
Adidas will launch new fabrics made from recycled polyester and marine plastic waste and expand the product lines that use them after the success of shoes made with the Parley for the Oceans initiative, the sportswear firm said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2020
Three Japanese ministries and the patent office to test ways to cut number of plastic bags at convenience stores
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday that it will launch a trial next week at convenience stores at three government ministries and an agency to test ways to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2020
Rome's Fiumicino airport tests eco-friendly plastic-graphene tarmac
Rome's Fiumicino airport is testing a pioneering tarmac developed by an Italian company, made of a material that has twice the lifespan of traditional asphalt and is better for the environment as it uses a waste plastic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2020
China unveils plan to reduce single-use plastic by 2025
China's top economic planner said it would cut the production and use of plastic over the next five years, helping reduce one of the world's biggest sources of plastic pollution.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 13, 2020
EU commission considers ban on plastic packaging: media report
The EU Commission is considering setting a ban on plastic packaging and new requirements for manufacturers, said Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU Commissioner-designate for environment and the oceans, in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / The Climate Crisis
Jan 11, 2020
Throwaway society: Rejecting a life consumed by plastic
How much single-use plastic do you think you consume in an average week living in Japan?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2020
Awareness of issue of plastic garbage in Japan slowly gaining steam
At a mid-December meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization and UNESCO, Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa spoke with pride about his city's successes in the area of sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 2, 2020
Thailand bans single-use plastic bags at major stores
Thailand began the year with a ban on single-use plastic bags at major stores, continuing a campaign launched by the government and retailers toward a complete ban in 2021 to reduce waste and debris in the sea.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2019
Minimum charge for plastic bags at Japanese shops from July: ¥1
The government on Friday revised ordinances of four relevant ministries to oblige retailers to charge a fee for issuing plastic shopping bags from July 1.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2019
In 'Star Wars' economy, one thing doesn't pay
Junkyards and scavengers are everywhere in the series. So why do they waste so much valuable scrap?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2019
Stores in Japan Environment Ministry building to stop handing out plastic bags
Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday that his ministry has stopped distributing plastic bags at all shops inside its government building, taking what he touted as a trailblazing step toward reducing plastic waste.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2019
Banning (some) free plastic bags
Japan's effort to reduce plastic waste by forcing retailers to charge for shopping bags has too many exemptions.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 29, 2019
Vancouver becomes first Canadian city to ban plastic straws and bags
Vancouver voted late on Wednesday to ban the use of plastic straws and bags from April next year, making it the first major Canadian city to enact such a wide-reaching ban, according to the city.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 22, 2019
Massive increase in concentration of microplastics seen on beach facing Japan's Ise Bay
Some 60,000 particles of microplastics per square meter — meaning one particle per 16 square millimeters — are estimated to exist at Nasanohama beach on Toshi Island in Toba, Mie Prefecture, a study by Yokkaichi University professor Satoshi Chiba has revealed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2019
Why the plastic crisis matters
Humankind must find ways to get by without laying waste to the planet.

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?