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Making Bags from Discarded Fishing Nets to Tackle Ocean Plastic Waste [2021年08月10日(Tue)]
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Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center right) and the author (center left) at a press conference on July 20, 2021, to announce that a group of companies, supported by The Nippon Foundation, will put on sale bags made from discarded fishing nets in October.


I was delighted to be joined by Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi at a press conference recently at which The Nippon Foundation and a group of companies announced that bags made from discarded fishing nets will go on sale on October 1.

The initiative to collect and recycle used fishing nets is expected to prevent fishermen from dumping their old nets into the ocean and is part of the country’s efforts to tackle the issue of marine plastic waste.  

About 8 million tons of plastic debris are discharged into the world’s oceans each year. In Japan, 20,000 to 60,000 tons of plastic trash flow into the sea of which fishing nets and lines account for 20% to 30% of the total, according to 2016 statistics compiled by the Environment Ministry.

Speaking at the event at The Nippon Foundation on July 20, Environment Minister Koizumi began by disclosing he himself already uses a bag made by this group from discarded fishing nets. 

Noting his ministry attaches great importance to combating the problem of ocean plastic litter, he said he strongly supports this project, which adds value to the fishing nets by “upcycling” them.   

Mr. Koizumi said he would be handing out pens made from marine plastic waste and a leaflet on Japanese business initiatives to reduce microplastics as examples of Japan’s campaign to combat ocean debris when he attended a meeting of Group of 20 Environment Ministers in Naples, Italy, two days later.

I told the news conference that I have long been looking for ways to recycle used fishing nets and was thus particularly pleased by this initiative to turn them into fashionable bags. I expressing my gratitude to the group of Japanese companies comprising the multi-industry “Alliance for the Blue” project The Nippon Foundation launched in July 2020 to cope with the issue of marine waste. The foundation hopes to work with a lot more companies in various industries to help combat ocean litter.

Mr. Shozaburo Yuri, president of the Hyogo Prefecture Bag Industry Association known for its trademark Toyooka Kaban (Toyooka Bags) from the western Japan prefecture, said its member companies developed bags made from discarded fishing nets as a way to contribute to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDG).

After the press conference, Minister Koizumi and I toured an exhibition on the first floor of The Nippon Foundation featuring about 50 Toyooka bags made from recycled nets, followed by a discussion among representatives of bag and textile manufacturers, recycling and other firms as well as The Nippon Foundation and the Alliance for the Blue secretariat on their achievements so far and challenges ahead.


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Speaking at a press conference at the Nippon Foundation on July 20, 2021, on “upcycling” discarded fishing nets into bags.


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The press conference was covered by many journalists and cameramen.


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Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi taking a look at bags made from discarded fishing nets after the press conference.


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Bags made from discarded fishing nets by a group of Japanese companies comprising The Nippon Foundation’s multi-industry Alliance for the Blue project.


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Bags made from discarded fishing nets to be put on sale both online and in selected stores on October 1, 2021.
Posted by Y.Sasakawa at 16:32 | OCEAN | URL | comment(0)