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> On average, Americans throw away their own body weight in trash every month. In Japan, meanwhile, the typical person produces only two-thirds as much That su

• Joe-Z 9y ago
  Plastic bags don't really weigh that much. Maybe Americans use a little less plastic bags (do they, though?) but throw away more other stuff, like plastic gadget crap.
  • titzer 9y ago
    Having personally dug hundreds, perhaps thousands of those evil little fuckers out of the sands of beaches all over the world, I would say that gram for gram these are one of the worst kinds of pollution man has created. Plastic shopping bags are a real bitch when they get into the sand. They often fill up with sand and become like a 10kg buried beachball. One literally needs to dig completely under them to get them out without tearing them up and leaving part of the bag under the sand. All of those plastic bags basically glue together the beach so that the normal erosive action of the sand being moved around by tides and waves no longer grinds things up like it normally would. That means the whole beach gets stagnant and rotten like a swamp. Really nasty.
    • Joe-Z 9y ago
      Oh sure, I despise the ubiquitous hand-outs of plastic bags as much as anyone, I was just making that comment to give a reason for the weight-difference in spite of the perceived over-usage of packaging in Japan. I make it a point to refuse plastic bags whenever possible (which is pretty much always). I find it incredible that they are still considered the standard mode for packaging your shit. If shops would only give them out when asked for it, the number of used plastic bags would surely plummet. One anecdote I found amusing is when I was in Yosemite: I bought a couple of t-shirts and told the lady at the check-out she doesn't need to give me a plastic bag for them, since I have my backpack with me anyways. She was pleasantly surprised and thanked me. It's one of the most well-known national parks in the US, where they make it a point to educate people on taking care of your environment, yet they hand out plastic bags with every purchase in the souvenir shop.
      • CaptainZapp 9y ago
        The two major retailers in Switzerland started to charge ~ 5 cents for those small, crappy plastic baggies. Usage went back by ~ 80%.
        • esrauch 9y ago
          On the other hand there is still a lot of packaging per good in Switzerland: a lot more things are sold individually wrapped in plastic (cucumbers, peppers, etc) and things like baking soda are sold in much smaller packets.
          • CaptainZapp 9y ago
            Both, cucumbers and peppers are usually sold open. With the exception of organic produce. That's so that the cashier is able to make the distinction, since prices for organics are usually higher. Usually, because there are exceptions, like a three pack of peppers. Fennel also comes often pre-packed. Other veggies usually not. That's not to say that not a lot more could be done. What I tried to do with my comment is to pôint out that a tiny fee can really change behavior.
• titzer 9y ago
  Bring a couple tupperware containers to the place where you want takeout. In my experience they are more than happy to fill your containers, since those portable containers do actually cost them money and are a logistical hassle. They might even give you a little extra food :)
• visarga 9y ago
  > waste for no real reason That's because Japanese want to be extra nice to customers. /s
• kaybe 9y ago
  Japan seems to have an interesting relationship with waste though. Getting rid of waste while wandering the cities is really hard since there are no bins. Convenience stores have bins, but from the behaviour of my Japanese frieds you cannot just put your waste there unless you bought it at that store. Contrast to Europe, where bins are ubiquitous and their use is encouraged. Maybe the difference is that Europeans will start littering more if not given the opportunity not to.