Shopping in Kobe, Japan.

Kobe partnering with the business sector to reduce waste

Kobe (Japan) is the first city in that country to set up an agreement with a major business in their community to reduce plastic bag use.

The Consumer Co-operative Kobe (Co-op Kobe) and the city will cooperate with each other to further reduce plastic bag use.

Since 1978, Co-op Kobe has been promoting a “My Bag” campaign that encourages shoppers to bring their own bags, and in 1995 it started charging five yen (about $US 0.04) for each plastic bag. The Co-op now aims to increase the percentage of shoppers who bring their own shopping bags from the current 72 percent to more than 90 percent. The collected charge will continue to be used for community activities such as environmental preservation.

Kobe City plans to establish similar agreements with other businesses engaged in reducing plastic bag use in the city, in support of the city’s goal to reduce the volume of plastic bag waste by 25 percent by 2015.

Waste management approaches also reduce transportation-related emissions and overall energy savings by reusing items that would otherwise have to be manufactured. Also, a dependence on landfills can be reduced through waste prevention and recycling measures, resulting in the further elimination of greenhouse gas emissions. For more information on the importance of waste management, please visit www.iclei.org/ccp.

Kobe is one of 21 local governments in Japan that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. For more information on ICLEI and its activities in Japan, please visit www.iclei.org/japan.

Source: “Kobe City, Co-op cooperate to reduce plastic bag use”, Japan for Sustainability, 11 March 2007.