＜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) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・「プラスチック製スプーン有料化」は「レジ袋有料化」と同様の愚策！
<Added January 30, 2024> FamilyMart Begins Charging for Plastic Spoons, Forks, and Straws at Some Stores
FamilyMart, a major convenience store chain, began charging for plastic spoons, forks, and straws at some of its stores on January 29th. This move, aimed at reducing plastic waste, is a first for a major convenience store chain.
FamilyMart has started charging for plastic spoons, forks, and straws—previously provided free of charge to customers purchasing bento boxes and desserts—at 4 to 6 yen per spoon, fork, and straw at 100 stores nationwide since January 29th.
The company anticipates that this will reduce plastic usage by approximately 4 tons annually, and plans to gradually expand the charge to over 16,000 stores nationwide.
Last year (July 2020), department stores, drugstores, and convenience stores began charging for plastic shopping bags. Charging for shopping bags at supermarkets and other retailers seems to have become commonplace.
Furthermore, the government has now approved a new “Plastic Bill” (Plastic Resource Recycling Promotion Bill) in a cabinet meeting, which includes provisions such as “regulating the provision of disposable forks and spoons at convenience stores and other establishments from April 2022 onwards.”
This is clearly excessive and can only be described as a “misguided, runaway attack fueled by hatred of plastic.”
I have doubts about this move. I have previously written articles on “Solutions to the Plastic Waste Problem” and “The Problem of Removing PET Bottles from Vending Machines,” so please take a look at those as well.
1. What is the “New Plastic Bill,” Including “Charging for Spoons”?
According to the government’s announcement, the contents of the “New Plastic Bill” are as follows:
The aim is to reduce plastic waste and promote recycling. Measures are to be taken in three stages: “design and manufacturing,” “sales and provision,” and “disposal, collection, and recycling.” In the “sales and provision” stage, businesses such as convenience stores, restaurants, and cafes are asked to rationalize the use of disposable plastic straws, forks, and spoons.
Specifically, it appears they are considering mandating that disposable plastic products be offered at a charge, that customers who refuse them receive points, or that they be switched to alternative materials.
Violation of the order could result in a fine of up to 500,000 yen. The bill is being debated in the current Diet session and aims to be implemented in April of next year.
2. Problems with the “New Plastics Bill”
I believe that charging for plastic shopping bags and plastic forks and spoons will not fundamentally solve the plastic waste problem.
Polyethylene is an inevitable byproduct of petroleum refining at “ethylene plants,” and plastic products such as plastic bags, PET bottles, and disposable spoons and forks can be considered “effective utilization” of this material.
These plastic products are inexpensive, and plastic bags, for example, can be used as garbage bags after shopping, making them very convenient. Treating them as “villains” is putting the cart before the horse.
Furthermore, plastic bags (shopping bags) are estimated to account for about 2% of the plastic waste generated in Japan annually. According to a 2016 survey of beach debris conducted by the Ministry of the Environment at 10 locations across Japan, plastic bags, including shopping bags, accounted for only 0.3% of the total volume of plastic waste, and tableware such as straws and forks accounted for a mere 0.5%. Industrial items such as fishing nets and ropes (26.2%) and styrofoam buoys (14.9%) accounted for higher proportions, while beverage bottles made up 12.7% of the household waste.
The current trend seems to be “seeing the trees but not the forest,” where “the large holes in a leaky bucket (China and Southeast Asian countries) are left unrepaired, while diligently trying to repair the small holes (developed countries like Japan). As a result, the water leakage (marine plastic pollution) hardly improves.”
I don’t believe that charging for plastic spoons and similar items, which only increases the profits of convenience stores and other businesses while imposing an economic burden on consumers, is a sound policy.
If the purpose of charging for plastic spoons and similar items is to address environmental concerns, then it would be more logical to first provide environmentally friendly wooden spoons and similar items free of charge.
Furthermore, I find it completely incomprehensible that they are proposing yet another nonsensical policy of charging for plastic spoons and similar items without first examining the effects, disadvantages, and problems of charging for plastic shopping bags.
I also have questions regarding climate change countermeasures in relation to environmental issues. I previously wrote an article on the issue of climate change countermeasures, so please take a look.