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September 02, 2025
 

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WASTE

A growing number of local governments in Japan are selling reusable oversize waste collected from households on marketplace app Mercari.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2024
Japan local governments using Mercari app to recycle oversize waste
From clothing boxes to furniture, the initiative aims to raise awareness of reusing goods while reducing carbon emissions from incineration.
A ground crew worker refuels a plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2024
Waste-to-fuel company that raised $1 billion verges on collapse
Fulcrum BioEnergy has recently laid off nearly all of its staff of about 100 and halted most of its operations, according to more than a half-dozen former employees.
A plant set up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Sewerage's Sunamachi Water Reclamation Center in Koto Ward to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge
JAPAN / Society
May 17, 2024
Tokyo to recycle phosphorus from sewage sludge for farm fertilizer
Phosphorus, along with nitrogen and potassium, is a crucial component of fertilizers.
Auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei makes bags and other items by reusing its mainstay air bag products.
JAPAN
May 7, 2024
Upcycling efforts spread among Japanese companies
Japanese companies are increasingly engaging in upcycling efforts, or adding new value to used products and waste materials, as part of their environmental and social contributions and to generate profits.
We don't know how much damage these polymers do to our health. But we can make significant inroads on litter and emissions to tackle this issue head-on.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2024
Plastic pollution is a growing problem. Here are some ideas on how to solve it.
International cooperation and proactive measures are needed to mitigate the harmful effects of plastics.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks stand on a log as plastic bottles and trash float on the the El Cerron Grande reservoir in Potonico, El Salvador, in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 22, 2024
Negotiations on global plastic treaty to resume in Canada
After promising to finalize a treaty by the end of this year, 175 countries are meeting in Canada from Tuesday to hammer out the details.
Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 6, 2024
AI is spying on the food we throw away
The tech is being used to try to reduce the amount of uneaten food that ends up in dumpsters.
Leftover premium-brand chocolate, originally slated for disposal, is made available for purchase at a discount in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Feb. 15, the day after Valentine's Day.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024
Efforts to reduce food waste find support in Japan but still face challenges
Initiatives are being introduced to avoid the waste of seasonal delicacies, but challenges such as entrenched commercial customs persist.
McDonald's Japan will start charging ¥5 for plastic bags of all sizes at some stores, starting in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024
McDonald's Japan announces trial ¥5 plastic bag charge to curb usage
The firm will eye expanding the fee nationwide following a trial at 23 of its stores in Nagasaki Prefecture starting in April.
Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward is testing a project to fight rats using garbage bags imbued with the smell of herbs they hate.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 11, 2024
Tokyo ward using garbage bags with herbs to combat rats
Chiyoda Ward received around 200 complaints annually in fiscal 2019 to 2022, a surge from around 50 until fiscal 2018.
Disaster waste from a New Year's Day quake on the Noto Peninsula is carried into a temporary storage site in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 15.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024
2.44 million tons of waste likely generated by Noto quake
The volume of disaster waste is equivalent to that of ordinary waste generated in the prefecture over seven years.
Kotaro Seki, CEO of Ellange, in front of the truck that he uses to collect nets from fisheries
JAPAN / Society / OUR PLANET
Jan 7, 2024
Trash into treasure: Can fishing net waste be the future of fashion?
A pair of Japanese startups are looking to solve a problem for the nation's fisheries: What to do with old fishing nets.
Paper pulp processed from used disposable diapers
JAPAN / Society
Jan 2, 2024
Graying Japan pushes to recycle disposable diapers to curb waste
The amount of diaper waste grew to 2.2 million tons in fiscal 2020. While efforts are being made to recycle them, high costs remain a hurdle.
Fire fighters put out a fire at a disposal site for oversized trash in Koto Ward, Tokyo, in November.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 26, 2023
Tokyo residents urged to hold on to large waste due to disposal site fire
Operations at the facility in Koto Ward were suspended following the fire, and the alternative facility handling the extra waste is nearing capacity.
Customers browse through items sold as part of the Uniqlo Pre-owned Clothes Project at the brand's Harajuku store in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023
Japan revisits used garments as inflation adds to fashion appeal
Awareness of the sector's huge environmental impact has yet to spark much interest in secondhand options in the world third-biggest clothes market.
Workers collect recyclable garbage including plastic bottles on World Environment Day in Tokyo in June 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2023
New solutions tackle Japan’s waste problem at its core
Issues like the plastics and climate crises seem insurmountable — until we apply "systemic design," as several Japanese initiatives are showing.
A member of the India team sorts through rubbish at the end of the first round of the Spogomi World Cup 2023 final, in which teams pick up as much rubbish as possible in a set amount of time, in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2023
Load of rubbish: Litter-hunters vie for world title in Tokyo
The Spogomi World Cup saw 21 countries battle it out to collect the most rubbish within a set time limit.
Overflowing trash next to a vending machine in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, which is popular with tourists, in March
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 18, 2023
Trash cans make techie comeback in Japan as tourists flood cities
This week, the tourist-heavy Dotonbori district in Osaka installed around 20 new technologically enabled garbage cans called SmaGO.
Staff at the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon 2023 collect used paper cups after the event on Oct. 15.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023
Japanese paper-makers pioneer domestic recycling of paper cups
Until now paper cups have typically been discarded as flammable waste, but are made from high quality pulp that can be reused.
Baby soap donated by sanitary products company Saraya to the city of Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, has been distributed at child care support facilities in the city.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2023
Donation platform matches firms with local governments in Japan
The platform not only helps improve the welfare of residents, but also allows companies to make effective use of inventories.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Woman dies after possible knife attack in Setagaya
Police investigate the scene where a woman was found bleeding on a street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
How Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helps their animals cope with extreme heat
A polar bear at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Thursday. The Arctic animals are among the most vulnerable species to Japan's scorching summer heat and zookeepers have to take a number of precautions in order to keep them safe.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
‘Cool’ Patagonia wants to take used items into the mainstream
"It's not just about sales. It's about system change," said Marty Pomphrey, general manager of Patagonia Japan, on Aug. 6.
How Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helps their animals cope with extreme heat
A polar bear at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Thursday. The Arctic animals are among the most vulnerable species to Japan's scorching summer heat and zookeepers have to take a number of precautions in order to keep them safe.

Podcast

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Longform

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By Alex K.T. Martin

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