Spread of new corona infection "Garbage problem" that is becoming more serious in each country

Spread of new corona infection "Garbage problem" becoming more serious in each country September 23, 20:15

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As the infection of the new coronavirus continues to spread, the "garbage problem" is becoming more serious in each country.

China

In China as well, the increase in plastic waste due to delivery services has become a problem against the backdrop of the spread of the new coronavirus infection.

In China, the delivery service market has grown rapidly in recent years, with the emergence of restaurant delivery-only apps, but the spread of the new coronavirus has spurred it.

Each restaurant has made various efforts such as dividing the dishes into separate containers so that the taste does not deteriorate, and according to a survey by an environmental NGO, the average amount of plastic containers used per order is 3.27. That is.

According to Chinese media, one of the major delivery apps revealed last month that the number of orders per day exceeded 40 million, and a simple calculation based on an NGO survey shows that at least one of the major delivery apps per day That means more than 120 million plastic containers are being used.

With the ever-increasing amount of plastic waste, China's largest landfill in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, inland China, was built to be available until 2044, but more than 20 years earlier than expected, last year it was full and plastic. The problem is how to dispose of garbage.

In China, plastic shopping bags have become a problem since the 2000s, as littering of plastic shopping bags has been called "white pollution". ▽ In 2008, plastic shopping bags were charged, and in 2017, plastic waste was imported from overseas. We have taken various measures such as banning it.

Furthermore, in January, the Chinese government banned the use of plastic shopping bags and restaurants in supermarket shopping bags and restaurants in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai by the end of the year, and will use them for delivery services by 2025. We have announced a policy to reduce the number of plastic containers used by 30%.

On the other hand, the problem of plastic waste continues to worsen against the backdrop of the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and with about three months remaining until the end of this year, we have set goals such as banning plastic shopping bags in big cities. It is unclear if this can be achieved.

Korea

As the infection of the new coronavirus spreads, sales of food and drink delivery services have increased significantly in South Korea over the summer, and as a result, the amount of garbage such as disposable plastic containers has become a problem.

According to the South Korean Ministry of the Environment, the amount of plastic waste in the first half of the year increased by 15.6% compared to the same period of the previous year, and an average of about 850 tons was emitted per day.

In South Korea, it is mandatory to separate plastic waste, but many of them are thrown away together with other waste, and food and liquid are left inside, so they cannot be recycled and the total amount of waste is increasing. ..

For this reason, at least 60% of the local governments in the Tokyo metropolitan area are expected to exceed the amount of waste that can be put out at the landfill site, and the Korean government has charged some local governments as a fee. We are busy with measures such as asking for about 15 billion won, about 1.3 billion yen in Japanese yen, and deciding to limit the acceptance of garbage for 5 days.

In addition, the Korean government will send about 10,000 instructors who advise the garbage collection points of apartments nationwide on how to separate as much plastic waste as possible to reduce the total amount of waste, until December. I have also decided to dispatch.

At the garbage collection point, instructors were making steady efforts, such as removing the labels on PET bottles and urging residents to wash disposable containers.

In addition, the South Korean government has decided to increase support for companies that select recyclable waste from waste until February next year, and is continuing to seek ways to reduce waste.

Thailand

In Thailand in Southeast Asia, a video posted on SNS has triggered a problem with the rapid increase in plastic waste.

This May, taken by a man who had been in isolation for two weeks at a designated facility after returning to Thailand from Japan, a large amount of plastic containers used for drinking water and lunch boxes brought to the room. Was piled up to the height of the height.

The man who posted the video said, "This plastic trash is produced by everyone in the facility, not just me. I wanted you to imagine how much trash would be in two weeks." It was.

In Thailand, as part of the reduction of plastic waste, major supermarkets have just stopped offering free plastic shopping bags from January.

However, due to the influence of the new coronavirus, many people refrain from going out and use food and drink delivery, so according to the Thai government, it has been one month since the introduction of the new coronavirus countermeasure in the capital Bangkok. The amount of plastic waste per unit has increased by up to 60% compared to the same month last year.

In addition, new measures are required to dispose of waste such as masks that may have viruses attached.

In Thailand, in response to the spread of infection, special trash cans for storing used masks have been installed throughout public facilities such as shopping centers.

A woman who came to throw away the mask said, "I think it's a good way to reduce the risk of infection, both for us who use masks and for those who collect garbage."

The collected used masks are collected in a specialized treatment facility together with medical waste that may have a virus attached to them, and incinerated at a higher temperature than usual in an incineration facility that minimizes smoke emitted to the outside. It has been.

In order to safely collect and dispose of such waste, efforts to share information on the amount and location of waste using mobile phone apps have also begun on a trial basis.

"Information about where and how much of this waste is important can help determine safe treatment and disposal methods," said Sitan Conkratok, a researcher at Mae Fah Luang University, who specializes in public health. I'm pointing out.

Expert "Need cooperation from the manufacturer"

Professor Masateru Takaoka of Kyoto University, who is familiar with waste management, said, "There is a temporary report that the amount of plastic waste in containers and packaging has increased by 10% to 16% in Japan due to the influence of the new corona virus. I think it can't be helped, but as a future direction, I think we have to reduce plastic waste as much as possible and then switch to one that has a low environmental impact if it can be replaced with other materials. " I will.

On top of that, "It is not a problem that consumers can deal with because it requires the cooperation of manufacturers of plastic products. Plastics are rooted in our daily lives, and I think it is difficult to replace everything, but this is the new coronavirus. It's an opportunity to think about the problem. "