Posts Tagged ‘trash’

Shonan Beach is filthy – stop littering!

NTV’s “Real Time News” aired a special report yesterday about Shonan Beach’s huge litter problem. Here’s an excerpt (subtitled in English):

A lot of the garbage, especially the glass bottles, comes from people who were drinking alcohol on the beach. Perhaps it would make sense to pass some strict rules about the consumption of alcohol on most areas of the beach, or at least make a very serious effort to enforce existing anti-litter laws?

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Japanese Anti-Litter PSA

A great anti-littering commercial from TV Saitama:

[hat tip to Watashi to Tokyo]

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South Korean Plastic Container Wave Continues

When I blogged on February 23rd about the bizarre wave of South Korean plastic garbage hitting Japanese shores, the plastic container count stood at just under 23,000. According to a new article in the Mainichi Shinbun (Japanese), the official count of plastic containers washed ashore since January is now at 39,941, the highest recorded number recorded since 1999.

[hat tip to Stereo]

Toxic Korean Garbage Littering Japanese Beaches

A follow-up to the last story about Japan’s problems with South Korean garbage dumping:

About 15,000 plastic containers have washed ashore on the Sea of Japan coast since January, with one third of them carrying Hangul characters, Environment Ministry officials said Tuesday.

The containers have washed ashore in 11 prefectures, and the ministry plans to ask the South Korean government to investigate the cause and to take preventive measures, the officials said.

The ministry started conducting hearings with local governments on Jan. 15, when it was confirmed that the plastic containers washed ashore at a number of places including Hirado in Nagasaki Prefecture.

By prefecture, 4,662 containers have washed ashore in Nagasaki, 3,738 in Shimane and 2,078 in Fukuoka, the officials said.

The plastic tanks have a capacity of about 20 liters. Some of them carry Hangul characters for “hazardous” or “oxidizing agent,” while others carry chemical formulas for hydrogen peroxide solution and nitric acid, the officials said.

[Image in this post taken from this Japanese site, which has more photos of South Korean garbage on Japanese beaches.]

Korea Dumped Waste in Japanese Waters For 15 Years

“>Whoops, looks like South Korea officially designated part of Japanese waters as a waste dump area:

Some part of waste dump areas in the Sea of Japan designated by the South Korean government overlaps with the continental shelf area and thus the exclusive economic zone of Japan. Unaware of this, South Korea has dumped waste in these areas for the past 15 years.

[...]

The demarcation line between the continental shelves was established as a result of an agreement in 1974. The borderline of the EEZs of the two countries was delineated as a result of a new agreement on fisheries between Korea and Japan in 1998.

A South Korean government official said the continental shelf area and the EEZ “are quasi-territorial waters of any country, as the country has exclusive jurisdiction over resource development, environmental preservation and fishery rights in those areas. To avoid diplomatic friction, we must immediately revoke the designation of the waste dump areas that infringe Japanese jurisdiction.” He said the issue was “tantamount to our government having dumped waste in Japanese territory. We should take responsibility according to international law if Japan proves that its marine environment has been contaminated.”

But an official with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said, “We’ve banned waste dump in the Japanese-controlled areas since 1998, so our government will not have to take responsibility for it. But it’s true that we’ve infringed Japanese jurisdiction, so we’ll work out ways to redesignate waste dump areas.”

At least it’s better than radioactive waste.

[via FG]

Giant Garbage Patch Near Japan

The Independent reports that some scientists believe there is a gigantic “plastic soup” of garbage in the Pacific ocean:

The vast expanse of debris – in effect the world’s largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting “soup” stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan.

Check out the full article for more information and a larger diagram.