SNA (Tokyo) — In spite of growing awareness regarding the global problem of plastic pollution, Japan has experienced difficulty reducing its plastic consumption since the arrival of the Covid pandemic in early 2020.

The proliferation of single-use plastic has been a problem in Japan for decades. On the eve of the pandemic, in 2019, it was estimated that 37 kilograms of plastic were produced per capita in Japan, well above the figures recorded for France (36 kilograms), Spain (34 kilograms), and India (4 kilograms).

This consumption is thought to have increased due to the pandemic. Plastics have been used, for example, in gear intended to prevent infections such as face masks and shields, as well as in many consumer products.

According to the Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association, the number of plastic containers and packaging it took charge of in 2020 was more than 680,000 tons, up from  660,000 tons in previous years.

In the face of this problem, some companies have attempted to take countermeasures.

Uber Eats, a food delivery service,  implemented a “utensil opt-in” function to reduce the distribution of single-use plastic items such as disposable straws, chopsticks, and forks. The current default option is that such items will not be included in food deliveries.

The same company also launched its “Uber Eats Eco Challenge” initiative. This is a campaign in which customers can earn “eco-points” if they order meals with containers or packaging which is eco-friendly. One eco-point is awarded for ordering more than ¥1,000 (US$7.20) with an eco-friendly container or packaging. Users receive a ¥500 (US$3.60) discount ticket when they earn ten eco-points.

Suntory Beverage and Food has also tried to tackle this issue by aiming to have all of its PET bottles produced sustainably by 2030 through the use of recycled materials. It is also the first company in the world to deploy Flake-to-Preform Direct Recycle Technology, which reduces the environmental burden by omitting one of the recycling processes for PET bottles.

Finally, Skylark Holdings, which own restaurants such as Gusto, Jonathan’s, and Bamiyan, has implemented an ongoing campaign to eliminate plastic straws. More recently, changing over its paper straws into biomass straws. Skylark aims to eliminate all single-use plastic by the end of this decade.

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