/ Blog /

Plastic

June 28, 2025 • Louie Mantia

For how many news cycles that plastic straws garnered, there is virtually no critique of companies that produce significantly higher volumes of plastic.

It’s incomprehensible just how much plastic a company like Disney alone produces for something like popcorn buckets. The volume of plastic per use is worth looking closer at. But it’s genuinely depressing to think about, especially when you consider things like blind-boxed “collectible” vinyl toys, where duplicates are often discarded.

When I lived in America, I saw a fairly rapid transition away from single-use plastic and styrofoam. Paper bags replaced plastic bags. Takeout boxes were suddenly compostable. But now that I live in Japan, I’m a little surprised just how much plastic I see in the wild.

My city, like many cities in Tokyo, have lots of categories for sorting garbage. A comprehensive, illustrated list for every category is printed out and distributed to everyone.

Here’s a simplified look:

Four of these are recycled at a block-level, meaning that everyone in a city block takes their recycling to a shared spot on their block every week. Burnable trash is collected twice a week, non-burnable trash is collected twice a month, both directly outside everyone’s home in clear bags.

At least, that’s how it was until a couple months ago, when they added a new category.

I did not quite realize until this started being separated out just how much plastic I end up with every week.

In Japan, takeout boxes are almost always made of plastic. Egg cartons are plastic. Produce is wrapped in plastic. Single bananas bought at convenience stores are individually wrapped in plastic. Actually, each Cup Noodle cup is shrink-wrapped in plastic. Not all single-use chopsticks are wrapped in plastic, but all the ones from convenience stores are.

Now that I’m separating out plastic, I’m shocked just how much there is. And conversely, how little burnable garbage I actually have. One of the reasons I switched back to bar soap was to avoid plastic bottles and refill bags. I’m making different choices with regards to food based on what plastic I might end up with too. Japanese garbage sorting is an impressive display of coordination but now seeing it all separated, it highlights which category represents the most household waste.

I wish it was financially unsustainable to package everything in plastic. Because when it’s cheap, the burden is shifted to consumers rather than the companies producing it.