An Analysis of the Impact of Charging for Plastic Shopping Bags to Retailers in Japan

In accordance with a revision of the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, there is an accelerating trend towards charging for plastic shopping bags （PSBs） in Japan for the purpose of reducing their discharge. The objectives of this research were to gauge, by means of a questionnaire survey, the opinions of retailers with regard to charging for PSBs, and to consider future directions for reducing the quantity of waste discharged. A questionnaire survey on charging for PSBs was conducted for retail stores in Shizuoka City. The survey was carried out in two phases. The results of the first phase （August to October 2008） showed that supermarkets were generally positive, while conversely other retailer types were negative. The results of the second phase （November to December, 2010）, targeting only supermarkets that had introduced charging after the first survey, showed that there was no major confusion and the shift proceeded relatively smoothly. In addition, the number of customers did not decline on account of charging, and the ratio of shoppers bringing their own reusable ＂eco bags＂ jumped dramatically. On these accounts, it is evident that charging for PSBs is an effective means of reducing usage of PSBs. The authors view it as important for the relevant governmental agencies to work towards promoting charging at retailers and simultaneously repeatedly explaining to consumers the necessity for charging.

Research on utilizing recycled plastic to make environment-friendly plywood

In our study, we replaced traditional adhesives with compounds made with recycled plastic shopping bags in order to make hot-melt plywood using various amounts of plastic film, different hot-pressing temperatures and hot-pressing times. All three variables have an effect on the intensity and water-resistance of plywood. The results show that the bonding strength of plywood does not increase with increasing amounts of plastic film. When the hot-pressing temperature is increased to 150℃, the bonding strength does not necessarily increase any further. At a hot-pressing time of 6 min, the bonding strength reaches a maximum, after which it will decrease. The optimum hot-pressing parameters are as follows： 100 g·m^-2 of recycled plastic, a hot-pressing temperature of 150℃ and a hot-pressing time of 6 min. This study puts forward a new idea of making use of plastic waste, which, ultimately, may solve the problem of formaldehyde emission without damaging the environment. It has enormous potential market applications.