Free water by bringing "My Bottle" to reduce plastic waste at 6:17 on July 2nd

As interest in reducing plastic waste is increasing, there is a series of movements to set up “water supply spots” in stores where customers can bring their own “water bottles” for free.

In the Ryohin Keikaku plan, which develops MUJI, we installed water dispensers for anyone on the 1st at 113 stores in Japan to collect water for free.

It means that you can purify tap water with a filter and choose between normal temperature and cold water. As a countermeasure against the new coronavirus infection, the company plans to disinfect the water dispenser with alcohol at least once a day depending on the number of customers.

An 18-year-old woman who visited a store in Ginza, Tokyo said, "I was buying a drink in a plastic bottle when I was thirsty, but I will carry my bottle with me in the future. I want it."

Mr. Chiaki Sekine of the Ryohin Keikaku Foods Department said, “We would like to expand the places where water can be supplied and work on reducing plastic waste throughout society.”

This company plans to establish "water supply spots" at approximately 400 stores, which is 90% of the total in Japan, during the current fiscal year.

In addition, IKEA Japan, which handles furniture and household goods, aims to reduce plastic waste by bringing "My Bottle" to all 11 stores in Japan, such as Harajuku, Tokyo, so that anyone can use it for free. Was installed by last month.

According to the Japan Plastics Recycling Association and others, the total amount of plastic waste that is actually discharged domestically is about 8.91 million tons, and the plastic shopping bags, which are obliged to pay on the 1st of this month, have 200,000 to 300,000 of them. The ton rate is estimated to be about 3%.

On the other hand, it is estimated that the percentage of "packaging/containers" that include PET bottles and food trays is about 44%.

This data does not show the amount of plastic bottles in the total plastic waste.

On the other hand, according to the PET Bottle Recycling Promotion Council, the quantity of PET bottles shipped with beverages etc. in Japan was approximately 626,000 tons in the previous year (FY2018). The number of PET bottles reached 25.2 billion, an increase of 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated that one citizen consumes more than 200 bottled beverages per year.

In order to reduce plastic waste, the reduction of plastic bottles and containers is also an issue.