All retailers nationwide on Wednesday started to charge a fee for plastic shopping bags, including convenience stores and supermarkets.
In principle, a revised government ordinance now requires to charge for plastic shopping bags with handles. This requirement affects all retailers, including specialty shops selling household goods, clothing, furniture and toys.
The amount of the fee for the bags is determined by stores. Some bags are not covered by the requirement, such bags with no handles used for deli items and fresh produce in supermarkets, as well as paper bags, cloth bags and bags containing more than 25% biomass-derived material. Retailers can continue to offer these bags free of charge to their customers.
Starting on Wednesday most convenience stores charged a fee for bags. Department stores and home centers also charged a few yen per bag. However, many shops in the food service industry that offer bags for hygienic reasons have opted for the free bags made with biomass material.
The reason behind this requirement is global ocean pollution caused by plastic waste. The aim is to increase social momentum for tackling environmental problems by reducing the use of plastic bags, which are so common in our daily lives.
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