To promote the reduction of plastic waste, the government has decided to oblige businesses that emit large amounts of plastic waste to set goals for emission reduction and recycling.
The government is considering measures required of companies and local governments based on the "Plastic Resource Recycling Promotion Law" enacted in June, and at a joint council of the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry held on the 23rd. The idea was shown.
This requires businesses other than some small companies to reduce plastic waste by reducing the generation of scraps generated during the manufacturing process and simplifying the packaging materials used in distribution. It is said.
On top of that, businesses that emit more than 250 tons of plastic waste annually are obliged to set goals for how much to reduce emissions and how to proceed with recycling in the next fiscal year.
The achievement status of the target is required to be announced on the Internet, etc., and the national government will provide administrative guidance if the efforts are extremely insufficient.
The government has decided to establish such measures as government ordinances and ministerial ordinances, and is aiming for enforcement in April next year together with the "Plastic Resource Recycling Promotion Law".
What are the efforts of major office furniture manufacturers?
A major stationery and office furniture manufacturer in Minato-ku, Tokyo is developing "deplastic" products, and has developed a clear holder that replaces 70% of the material with paper, and some of them at the end of this month. We plan to switch the packaging of our products from plastic to paper.
It is said that the background to these efforts is the improvement of employees' environmental awareness through daily efforts.
At this company, five times a month from the beginning, the trash cans in the office of the head office are unannounced to check the number of plastic shopping bags that are thrown away, and the result is notified to all employees working in this office by e-mail. I am.
As a result, employees' environmental awareness has increased, and it is said that the number of plastic shopping bags, which had been thrown away from about 150 bags a day before the start of the initiative, has decreased to about 10 in just over two years.
Furthermore, in order to reduce plastic waste other than plastic shopping bags, the company's unique initiative of using my bottles and bringing handmade bento boxes to collect points and receive prizes has been carried out for two months from June. It means that more than 200 employees participated.
"Plus" Takashi Funayama, CSR Manager, said, "In order to achieve a great effect, it is necessary to raise" deplasticization "to the business level, and it is important for employees to understand and sympathize with the problem." He said, "While taking advantage of plastics, which are durable and light, we would like to reduce the amount used and switch to alternative materials so that they will not be used wastefully."