Plastic plastic shopping bag policy to be charged from July next year The issue is also November 4, 18:37

Regarding plastic plastic bags, the national government has compiled a policy to require all retailers to charge a fee from July 1 next year. Influences and issues are pointed out only on things that are closely related to daily life.

From July 1, next year, a fee will be required for plastic shopping bags made of fossil resources such as oil used to carry goods. Regardless of the type of business or scale, all retailers nationwide are targeted, and the price of the plastic bag and the usage of the sales are decided by the operator.

However, bags containing 25% or more of biomass plastic made from plants, bags made of plastic that decomposes into water or carbon dioxide in the sea, and bags that can be used repeatedly over 0.05 mm in thickness Will be removed from the obligatory scope.

There was a request from an industry group such as a convenience store that “we do not want to bring warm lunch boxes or soup with you.”

Convenience store managers in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture agree with this policy. A lot of shopping bags are thrown away every day in the recycle bin placed in the store. I often gave up and thrown away immediately, and I felt it was a waste.

I have been asking customers if they need a plastic bag, but they were worried that the service might be worse than at other stores.

Mr. Yuhisa Kato (51), who runs the store, said, “I feel that the number of customers saying“ I don't need plastic bags ”is increasing compared to before, so it is good to pay more and encourage further reduction. “In the case of hot food or soup, a plastic bag is required, but that ’s why I think you can pay for it.”

Consumer opinions vary

A 20-year-old office worker who visited a convenience store to buy lunch said, “It ’s convenient because you can throw away empty containers after you ’ve eaten them in plastic bags. It ’s not easy to be transformed. ”

Also, when I asked lunch at Tokyo Marunouchi, a 20-year-old office worker man said, “I think I get 4 to 5 plastic bags a day. I think there is no way to pay for it if you think about environmental issues. "

Regarding the fact that bags made of biomass plastic are not subject to mandatory charging, a male employee in his 40s said, `` Why is it made out of the target even though it is trying to reduce the total plastic waste? "I don't understand well," said a mother in her 30s who brought a young child, "If you do not set the target, it will be difficult for consumers to understand. Either all shopping bags will be charged or not. I wanted. "

Why pay

According to the Ministry of the Environment, the amount of plastic waste produced in Japan per year is about 9 million tons. In contrast, the annual consumption of plastic bags is estimated to be 300,000 to 400,000 tons, which is 3% to 4% of the amount of garbage.

Although plastic bags do not occupy much of the garbage, the country positions the charging of plastic bags that are familiar to daily life as a symbolic initiative to raise awareness of disposable plastics.

According to a report released last year by UNEP = United Nations Environment Program, plastic used for containers and packaging is about 32 kilograms per capita in Japan per year, which is the second largest after the United States. .

In addition, marine pollution caused by plastic waste has been raised as a global issue, and in May, the country set a goal of reducing disposable plastic waste by 25% by 2030.

According to the Ministry of the Environment, in more than 20 countries such as Europe, plastic bags are charged or taxed, and some countries and regions prohibit manufacturing and sales.

In Japan, 19 prefectures are paying for plastic bags in all areas, and in Toyama Prefecture, where charging began in 2008, approximately 1.57 billion, approximately 16,000 tons by the end of last year. Of plastic waste.

Minister Koizumi said at the conference after the cabinet meeting on the 1st of this month, "I would like to have a positive understanding of the problem of plastic waste through the mandatory charging of plastic bags, leading to a positive chain that creates behaviors that do not end with plastic bags." Did.

Excludes “biomass plastic”

There are also problems with plastic bags made of “biomass plastic” and “marine biodegradable plastic” being excluded from the requirement of charge.

Conventional plastic bags are made from petroleum and other raw materials, but biomass plastics are made by processing resin made from sugar from plants such as sugar cane and corn.

Since plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, there is a widespread movement to use it because it is thought that increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which causes global warming, even if burned as waste.

For example, “Matsuya”, a beef bowl chain, plans to introduce a bag containing 90% biomass plastic to approximately 1,000 stores nationwide this month.

Marine biodegradable plastics are being developed as being decomposed into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in the sea. However, it has not yet been put into practical use as a shopping bag in Japan.

The cost of manufacturing plastic bags made from these special plastics is still high, and biomass plastic does not lead to waste reduction itself.

The Ministry of the Environment, etc., said that special plastics were excluded from the obligation, “I do not recommend free distribution, but I would like to expect the price to remain in the market.”

The committee member said, “It will be a big issue how consumers understand why biomass plastics and marine biodegradable plastics are no longer required. It was pointed out that you have to make sure that

Restaurants using ticket machines that cannot use 1 yen or 5 yen coins

At restaurants where ordering and accounting are done at ticket machines, we are worried about how to deal with the charge for plastic bags. This is because many ticket machines cannot use 1-yen or 5-yen coins.

Of these, ticket vending machines can only be used from 10-yen coins at stores that offer approximately 70 pork bowls nationwide. Originally, 10 yen was added as a container fee at the time of take-out, so I think that it can be considered that the price of shopping bags is also included in this, but in that case, what about customers who brought my bags? The question remains as to what to do. We will also consider how to receive a separate plastic bag fee in the future.

Asuka Kunno, manager of the public relations office of Antworks, which runs the store, said, “Since the popular products are seasoned with garlic soy sauce, it is difficult to put them in their bags. It was quite difficult to deal with, so I'm a little worried when I think there will be a question of what to do next year. "

Is the manufacturer of bag production serious?

Manufacturers that make plastic bags are thought to be seriously affected by the requirement to pay.

This policy included consideration of support for manufacturers.

The company in Otake City, Hiroshima Prefecture, which has been producing plastic bags for about 50 years, has seen an increase in the sales volume from 70% to 80% over the past 10 years due to an increase in the number of local governments and businesses that are paying for plastic bags. It means that it has decreased.

In an effort to develop environmentally friendly products, we have reduced the thickness of plastic shopping bags to almost half that of conventional products and produced bags containing biomass plastics. I am serious.

According to the “Japan Polyolefin Film Industry Association”, which is made by a plastic bag manufacturer, there are cases where demand has fallen by nearly 90% in the local governments that have been paying, and in the past few years bankruptcies and business closures have continued.

Kenichi Nakagawa, president of the company in Otake and a permanent director of the union, said, “We are proud that plastic bags have contributed to the development of the retail industry and provided convenience to consumers. If you do, you can't live. "

Also, regarding biomass plastics, “there are high prices for plastic bags due to high raw materials, and there is a current situation where they are not sufficiently popular. To encourage the transition from conventional plastic bags, we need government support.” It was.

The operator sets the price of the plastic bag

According to the policy shown this time, it is supposed to be set by the business owner how much the plastic bag will be, but it can be made a price close to free like 0.1 yen, and the effect of charging will be lost There is an opinion that the country should show the lowest price.

In the future, the country will show precedent cases in Japan and abroad as a reference.