＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
As plastic waste becomes a global problem, campaigns such as charging for plastic bags and not using plastic straws have also spread.
And now, it seems that local governments and companies in Japan are even starting to remove PET bottles from drink vending machines in government buildings and offices.
I would like to consider this issue in this article.
1. The movement to “eliminate plastic bottles from vending machines”
In April 2019, Mayor Shigeki Osanai of Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture, announced the “Cool Choice Declaration” which included a reduction in disposable plastics, and in November, a “vending machine that has eliminated plastic bottles” was installed on the first floor of the city hall.
In October 2018, Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture made it clear that it would “eliminate the sale of PET bottled drinks as much as possible” in the “Kamakura Plastic Waste Zero Declaration.” In April 2019, PET bottled drinks were removed from four vending machines at City Hall.
In June 2019, Fujitsu began an initiative to stop selling PET bottled drinks from vending machines installed in its offices.
Since November 2018, Sekisui House, together with its group companies, has been gradually eliminating PET bottle products from vending machines at its offices.
2. The movement to “eliminate PET bottles from vending machines” is a mistake
I previously wrote an article on “Solutions to the Plastic Waste Problem,” but to fundamentally solve this problem, it is essential that Asian countries, including China, improve their waste disposal methods.
The ranking of “the amount of plastic waste that has flowed from land into the ocean” (estimated for 2010) is as follows:
1st place: China 3.53 million tons, 2nd place: Indonesia 1.29 million tons, 3rd place: Philippines 750,000 tons, 4th place: Vietnam 730,000 tons, 5th place: Sri Lanka 640,000 tons, … 20th place: United States 110,000 tons, … 30th place: Japan 60,000 tons
Japan’s emissions are low because over 80% of plastic is recycled and plastic waste is properly incinerated.
Despite this, the movement to treat plastic products as the “enemy” and work to reduce them may be an overreaction and performance to pander to international society and the trends of the times, but I believe that, like the “global warming countermeasures” movement, it is a “cult-like situation” trapped in a false dogma.
3. Beverage manufacturers should stand up and stop wrong moves.
Production of PET bottle drinks, which are convenient for consumers to carry around, is on the rise, with over 70% of soft drinks being PET bottled, and the recycling rate is also high at over 80%. For this reason, industry groups are expressing confusion about the move to remove PET bottles from vending machines.
According to the Japan Soft Drink Association, an association of beverage manufacturers, plastic bottles accounted for 74.6% of soft drinks produced in 2018, and are found in most vending machines. In the 10 years leading up to that year, production volume had increased by about 1.5 times. A spokesperson for the association was reportedly disappointed by the removal of plastic bottles from vending machines, saying, “It’s unfortunate that this will narrow the choices for customers.”
According to the PET Bottle Recycling Promotion Council, the recycling rate for PET bottles has remained at around 85% since fiscal year 2020. In the United States, it is in the 20% range, and in Europe it is in the 30-40% range, making Japan the highest in the world. Furthermore, the council has set a goal this year of achieving 100% effective use by fiscal year 2030 (Reiwa 12) through recycling and utilizing incineration heat. An executive is said to have raised the issue, saying, “Of all plastic products, PET bottles are the front runners in recycling, so I feel uncomfortable with the move to stop selling them in vending machines.”
I don’t think it would be such a big problem if this movement were limited to a few environmental protection groups, but if it is spreading to local governments and companies, then it is a “mistaken overreaction to the plastic waste issue,” and I think beverage manufacturers should stand up straight and speak the truth and put a stop to this erroneous movement.
4. Government response
The government is promoting the 3Rs of plastics (reduce, reuse, recycle), and the Ministry of the Environment’s Recycling Promotion Office points out that “recycling of PET bottles is progressing, but reduction is still far from being achieved, and it is necessary for consumers to limit their use as much as possible and curb production.”
However, I believe that the government should fairly consider the claims of beverage manufacturers and put a stop to the excessive “misguided overreactions” by local governments and companies.
Rather, I believe that the Japanese government should encourage countries that produce large amounts of plastic waste, such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, to follow Japan’s example of excellent methods of incinerating, reusing, and recycling plastic waste.
As an aside, the “PET” in “PET bottles” is an abbreviation for “polyethylene terephthalate,” a type of polyester, but this term is not widely used outside of Japan.
In Europe and the United States, they are generally called “plastic bottles.”
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