Movement of plastic reduction Aug. 18th, 16:42

The environmental pollution of plastic waste abandoned in the sea has become a problem, and there is a growing movement among food and beverage manufacturers to switch containers for storing products to those made of paper with enhanced functionality.

Nestlé, a major food manufacturer, will switch its chocolate confectionery bags from plastic to paper bags with increased strength and elasticity from the end of next month.

About 30% of domestic shipments of main products will be switched to paper bags, which will reduce plastics by about 380 tons per year.

Yuji Takeuchi, General Manager of Nestlé Japan Marketing Department, says, “Environmental pollution caused by plastic is an urgent issue and we will continue to work on it as we can do it in the future.”

“Asahi Beer” made a new cup of paper using paper. This material was developed by “Panasonic”, which means that pulp made from thinned wood was finely crushed and added to resin to increase strength.

As a cup that can be used repeatedly, it is assumed that it will be used in events such as drinking beer outdoors.

Toru Furuhara, Deputy General Manager of Asahi Breweries Packaging Technology Research Institute, says, “There are many scenes where plastic is thrown away, so I want to help reduce waste.”

Efforts to reduce plastic waste in offices

To reduce the amount of plastic waste from the office, efforts to distribute mugs and water bottles free of charge to employees and to encourage the use of water dispensers are expanding.

Asset management company “Nomura Asset Management” has distributed mugs to all 950 employees working in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka since this month.

The cost of the mug is about 700 yen, but the company bears the cost, and encourages the use of in-house drinking water servers such as coffee and tea to reduce the amount of plastic bottles that become plastic waste.

Mr. Junko Nakagawa, President of Nomura Asset Management, said, “It may be a small effort, but looking at the cup every day will raise awareness of waste plastic.”

In addition, the non-life insurance company Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance distributes water bottles to approximately 1,800 employees at the headquarters and calls for the use of water supply equipment installed in the company. We removed the trash bins for PET bottles at the head office and factory.

The reduction of plastic waste is a global issue, and restaurants and other places are moving to replace straws with paper, but such efforts are also spreading in offices.