Update : 2023-3-24
Plastic Shopping Bags Starting to Be Charged for from July 1
Do not litter wastes. Sort wastes.
Littered wastes will float on rivers and flow into the sea.
Sort out wastes so that they can be recycled.
Waste Sorting App
An application is being distributed, which gives you information about waste collection days and how to take out wastes.
Download here.
iOS version : Soka City Garbage Sorting App - App Store(Link to External Site)
Android version : Soka City Garbage Sorting App - Google Store (Link to External Site)
Choose what you need
Use your shopping bag and your drink bottle.
Say "No" to over-wrapping.
Do not receive anything which you will throw away soon.
Use things repeatedly.
Buy refill packs.
Use plastic shopping bags at home for other purposes several times.
Use things carefully. Choose things you can use for a long time.
Exhibition and Sale of Second-hand Articles
Out of things abandoned as bulky refuse, furniture and other articles still good to use are cleaned by the staff and are put on sale.
See the website of Soka City for details.
Inquiry counter about charging for plastic shopping bags
(Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
Tel.0570-080180 (9時0分 a.m. ~ 6時15分 p.m. on weekdays)
Why are plastic shopping bags charged for ?
Why are plastic shopping bags charged for ?
Charging for plastic shopping bags is made compulsory by the national government as one of the steps to solve environmental problems such as plastic wastes. Plastic wastes, which flow into the sea without being decomposed, are causing serious problems threatening the ecosystem.
If no actions are taken, the total weight of plastic waste in the sea may exceed that of fish in 2050.
8 million tons = the weight of 50,000 jumbo jets
Over 8 million tons of plastic wastes flow into the sea in the world every year.
The 2nd worst place in the world
Japan ranks the 2nd worst in the world in the amount of disposed plastic containers and wrappings per person.
But Soka City is not facing the sea and it doesn't seem real to me that marine creatures are having problems.
Soka City is not facing the sea, but disposed plastic wastes are blown by wind into rivers, and eventually into the sea.
So it is important to observe the rules of disposing of waste.
It is also important to reduce the amount of waste.
If plastic wastes are blown into rivers by wind or rain, it will reach the sea as small pieces without being decomposed.br /> Many cases are reported that whales, turtles, fish and birds eat flown plastic pieces by mistake but cannot digest them, and as a result those creatures cannot eat any more food, resulting in death.
Plastic is convenient and is part of our life, but we must use it in a wise way.
If I use my own shopping bags, it will help save resources and money.
I'll think about what I can do.
Source: Ministry of Environment "About problems of marine plastic" and WWW Japan "About problems of marine plastic"
Inquiry
Kankyo-ka (Environmental Section)
Tel.(048) 922-1519
FAX(048) 922-1030
Haikibutsu Shigen-ka (Refuse and Recycle Section)
Tel.(048) 931-3972
FAX(048) 931-9993