Japan’s Kyodo News reported on the 13th that the Japanese government is committed to reducing disposable plastic waste, and plans to reduce it by 25% by 2030. At the same time, it advocates the use of bioplastic products and plants as raw materials for such products.
The source said that the plan will be included in the draft of the plastic waste reduction prepared by the Ministry of the Environment and is scheduled to be submitted to the government cabinet on the 19th of this month.
Japan's per capita plastic waste generation is second only to the United States, behind the restrictions on the use of disposable boxes and shopping bags to reduce the use of plastics in some countries.
The plastics program includes increasing the use of bioplastics from 70,000 tons in fiscal year 2013 to around 2 million tons in 2030. In this scenario, a government official said: 'This is really ambitious.'
The plan does not mention the reference year for the amount of plastic waste. Japan's Ministry of the Environment data shows that plastic bottles and plastic packaging, which account for the majority of plastic waste, reached 4.07 million tons in 2016.
The Japanese government also intends to increase the recycling rate of plastic waste, so that the recycling rate of domestic and industrial plastic waste reaches 60%. In fiscal 2016, the recycling rate of domestic plastic waste was 53%.