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Eco-friendly bioplastics are in the bag for Japanese retailers
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Aeon also sells "TOPVALU fururi" umbrellas using bioplastic sheets at some of its stores. (youtube.com/user/topvaluchannel/File)
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usinesses and local authorities in Japan are turning to environmentally friendly bioplastics for shopping and garbage bags, as well as product containers, in a bid to step up their conservation efforts.
Environmentally conscious consumers have responded positively to the use of such materials, viewing it as a practical way of helping conservation.
Oriental Land Co., operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, is among the businesses to have begun using shopping bags made of bioplastic derived from sugarcane ethanol.
The bags, available in different sizes with a Mickey Mouse logo, have been used at souvenir shops of Tokyo Disney Land and Tokyo DisneySea as well as hotels in the resort since 2015.
"We decided to use the bags as they will help reduce the burden on the environment," says an Oriental Land official in charge, referring to widespread concerns about the environmentally harmful carbon dioxide to be emitted to the atmosphere when conventional petroleum-based plastics are incinerated.
Bioplastics are derived from renewable biomass sources such as sugarcane ethanol, corn starch and cellulose from woods. Upon disposal, they are degraded by microorganisms to carbon dioxide and water. Since the carbon is from original biomass sources, it is considered to be environmentally neutral, meaning no additional CO2 is released into the atmosphere.
Read also: Air pollution disrupts our sleep, says new study
Supermarket chain operator Aeon Co. is also using sugarcane-derived bioplastic shopping bags at its large stores since 2013.
Along with its move of encouraging consumers use their own errand bags, those bioplastic bags that are provided and charged at shoppers' request are the company's conservation efforts. Proceeds from the bags are all donated to environment protection activities.
Aeon also sells "TOPVALU fururi" umbrellas using bioplastic sheets at some of its stores. The plastic sheets come with different designing patterns and users can change the sheet of umbrella. The method for changing the sheet is explained in video on Aeon's website.
Ahead of the game is cosmetic maker Shiseido Co.
In 2011, it began using sugarcane-based bioplastic for the containers of its "Super Mild" series of shampoo and conditioner. The series "have been well received" by consumers and the company is proceeding with plans to use other types of environmentally friendly materials for its products, according to the company.
On the part of municipalities, the Kyoto city office plans to introduce bioplastic garbage bags on a trial run in June.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 1997 Kyoto protocol on global warming. When the trial goes well, the city will officially designate the bags for its residents' use for taking out garbage, it says.
