Japan's Problem with Plastic Explained

In my videos about Japan I'll often get comments about the amount of plastic used. Does Japan have a plastic problem?

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[JustinKoenigSilica]

I'm a Chemist. Unless we break down the polymers back into their building blocks (monomers), all plastics can only be mechanically recycled a very limited number of times, before the mechanical properties significantly change. This is due to the chain length of the polymer decreasing with further and further recycling. Hope this clears up some misconceptions on plastics.

[Azalynnnn]

Great video, all wonderful points.
Remember the 3 R's. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. There's a reason why recycle is the LAST on the list. Reducing usage and finding reusable solutions are MILES ahead of recycling.

[theresalwayssomethingtobui]

At the moment, I work in plastic recyceling research and in the first 3, 5 minutes you covered SO much knowledge students at our uni have to learn in 3 years - that's really great! Also the method you used to determine how much plastic/ g food is used is actually scientifically correct. Thanks for all the source material, I am in fact interested in studying if there's a difference in the way Japan and Europe treat their plastic waste. (seems not so much) So your video is motivating me to follow up on that question!

[Lee-icln]

Here in the states, we have a huge plastic problem where over 90% of "recycled" plastic aren't recycled. The plastic industry lobbied hard to prevent one of our senators, Sheldon Whitehouse, from passing legislation that will limit their use.

[dominikseljan]

Really well researched and communicated video Greg. You never disappoint with new and interesting topics!

[__aceofspades]

Another great video, Greg. The thoroughness and cited sources make it come off as well researched. I'm of the same opinion as you, where plastic is a VERY nuanced discussion. I try to do my best with not creating waste, but there are times when I just throw a plastic container in the trash because the amount of hot water and soap I would need to clean it seems worse than the plastic itself. People always say glass is better, but like your video mentions, it costs more energy to make, transport and clean, than a feather light plastic bottle. Similar story with cotton bags/totes vs plastic, you'd need to use your cotton bag several thousand times for it cause less environmental harm than plastic bags.

Its an extremely complicated situation. And while plastic is 'bad', its also a super material, cheap, light, waterproof, can be hard or soft, durable or delicate. My opinion is that plastic isnt truly the issue, but energy is. With enough energy alternative options like glass and aluminum make more sense, and plastics can easily be removed from the environment and properly processed. But obviously getting an abundance of energy would solve a ton of problems, and getting there through renewables isnt an easy feat.

Unfortunately I dont think this video will do well on Youtube. It starts with the misconceptions of Japans plastic use, but deviates into recycling and plastic as a whole. Its a 10/10 video about plastic and recycling, but I fear that the subject isn't a popular one, unless you're a channel like Kurzgesagt. But even if it doesnt do well, I hope you're able to be happy that you made a high quality educational video.

[idasaks]

I am Norwegian and very happy with our bottle recycling system. It is very nice to collect a lot of bottles and get money back for them! I always keep my bottles until I can recycle them.

[MrWage]

Great point on industry being a huge source of plastic. I've worked at a gas station in the US, the amount of plastic waste we generated every week before products were even stocked on the sales floor was astounding.

[Sagwafu]

Unexpected Plastic Love!! Bless you, Greg. You always talk about esoteric subjects I'm curious about. Your channel is becoming very similar in flavor to Japanology and I adore it.

[test]

excellent discourse, more balanced and comprehensive than many mainstream reporting.

[findtherightbeat]

Thanks for covering this topic, I've been wondering how Japan manages its plastic use since I come from the Philippines and pretty much think we have to learn how to manage the use of plastic.

[etherdog]

Greg, you have pulled together a lot of pieces of the plastics lifecycle into a really great story! I've learned the various parts of it over the years, but nowhere as concise and well documented as you have achieved. Thanks! (It was a disconcerting to hear that you are living alone and I hope everybody is, or will be, ok.)

[CatsOfMarrakech]

This has to be the most concise and statistically based piece on this subject

[tootyou]

Hats off for making this video and sharing your well documented research 👏

[carboxy_yt]

Glad to see a video that accurately shows Japan's recycling system.
Plastics are derived from crude oil, so they help in combustion.
This way, less fuel is used for incineration.

[htns]

I think @LifeWhereImFrom deserves some praise for being so thorough in including sources in the video description! Well done, I wish everyone did that.

[mnap]

This was something I couldn't help but think about when watching your past videos. Sadly, even recyclable plastic is a problem, since there is a limit to the number of times plastic can be recycled before it ends up in a "last use" type product (e.g., carpeting, decking material, etc.), or just burned.

[Alicia-ag]

Very interesting topic as usual, I'm looking forward to the next video. Have a nice rest of the week!! ♥️

[pydepyper]

Greg this was a great and educational video! It made me think about how much plastic we use in the USA, and how even though I don't buy tones of stuff in plastic we throw away so much every week.

[bibliocharylodis]

Interesting video!
In Austria we have a plant that breaks plastic down and turns it back into crude oil from which any type of plastic can be created again - even medical grade plastic. At the moment 100 litres crude oil per houre are produced from 100 kg plastic waste that is not recycable and would have been incinerated. Seeing as a lot of things are finite resources, finding ways of getting the basic resources back after use, seems like a really good idea. :)