Revealing the intersectoral material flow of plastic containers and packaging in Japan

Abstract

The Japanese government developed a strategy for plastics and laid out ambitious targets including the reduction of 25% for single-use plastic waste and the reuse/recycling of 60% for plastic containers and packaging by 2030. However, the current usage situation of single-use plastics including containers and packaging, which should be a basis of the strategy, is unclear. Here, we identify the nationwide material flow of plastics in Japan based on input–output tables. Of the domestic plastic demand of 8.4 Mt in 2015, 1.6 and 2.5 Mt were estimated to be for containers and packaging comprising household and industry inflows, respectively, through the purchase/procurement of products, services, and raw materials. Considering the current amount of recycling collected from households (1.0 Mt) and industries (0.3 to 0.4 Mt), the reuse/recycling target has already been achieved if the goal is limited to household container and packaging waste, as is the focus of Japan’s recycling law. Conversely, the results indicate that it will be extremely difficult to reach the target collectively with industries. Therefore, it is essential that efforts be made throughout the entire supply chain. Food containers and packaging that flowed into the food-processing and food service sectors accounted for 15% of the inflow of containers and packaging into industries. Thus, the key to achieving the reuse/recycling target will comprise the collection of plastic food packaging from not only households but also the food industry. Furthermore, the collection of flexible plastic films used between industry sectors will put the target within reach.

Plastic packaging flows in Europe: A hybrid input‐output approach

“…H-O, households and other final demand; E, exports from manufacture of glass, ceramics, cement, and metals (MG) to the construction sector (CO). Similarities can be seen between the prominent flows in the EU drawn in this work and the flows described for Japan recently by Nakatani et al (2020).…”

“…Waste generation intensity among sector groups was highest for wholesale/retail and hotels and restaurants, both around 1.5 t/Meuro. Waste intensity per Meuro of household consumption was similar at 1.5 t. Packaging use intensity values can be compared with the recent study from Japan where, after currency conversion, intensity of the beverage sectors appeared at 10.5 t per Meuro and food sectors at 3.5 t per Meuro (Nakatani et al, 2020). In this reference study, the second highest intensity is displayed by plastic products at 9.5 t per Meuro.…”

“…). However, because packaging waste associated with input to sectors depends on the type of sector and type of packaging (i.e., sales or transport), as described in Section 2.2.1, we use transfer matrices G, similar to (Nakatani et al, 2020). Thus, postconsumer waste generation is calculated as follows:…”

“…Examples include the study of supply chains of metals and alloys in Japan (Nakajima et al, 2013) and the United States (Chen et al, 2016;Ohno et al, 2016). Plastics in particular have been addressed, such as the detailed flow analysis of PVC in Japan (Nakamura et al, 2009), Bisphenol A and polycarbonate flows in China (Jiang et al, 2017), and most recently, plastic products and packaging in Japan (Nakatani et al, 2020). Even earlier studies, which constituted IO-MFA stepping stones, include Duchin and Lange (1998) that used industry trade data to build a physical plastics extension to the IO monetary table for the United States and Joosten et al (1999Joosten et al ( , 2000 that developed a SUT framework model to study plastics in the Dutch economy.…”

Green Packaging from Consumer and Business Perspectives

“…For example, the directives promoted in the European Union demand that member countries introduce legislative initiatives on packaging waste management [6]. Another example is the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law of Japan [7], which establishes that municipalities should collect and store the containers and packaging separated from solid waste.…”