At the Ote Mall in the center of Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, a market with stalls and booths is held twice monthly, except in January and February. The name of the market event is the "Echu-Ote Market." To reduce waste produced by the market event, its Executive Committee decided to introduce a dish deposit system in which food and drink are served in reusable trays and containers instead of disposable plastic ones.

This returnable dish system is gaining popularity at environmental festivals and university festivals in Japan. The Ote market introduced the system when "Earth Day Toyama 2004," an environmental festival, was held jointly with the market on April 25, 2004. One set of reusable tableware was leased to consumers with a deposit of 100 yen, which was fully refunded when it was returned. The tableware was leased again after being washed.

One hundred sets, including a returnable tray, a cup, a dish, a fork and a pair of chopsticks, were used for the Earth Day event, and about 20 volunteers washed the returned dishes with hand-made soap and disinfected them in boiling water. The food stall owners at the Earth Day festival site welcomed the dish return project, as many customers chose the reusable dishes and as a result, very little waste was produced. However, in the case of the non-Earth Day Ote market, the results were not as good due to the lack of active PR activities and suitable bowls for noodles.

While recognizing that there remain problems with the new system, the Executive Committee of the Echu Ote Market plans to recruit volunteers for dish washing, while raising the environmental awareness and seeking the understanding of food stall owners to ensure better operation of the reusable dish system.




Posted: 2004/07/23 02:20:47 PM
Japanese version

TAG Food/Water , Local government , Material reduction , NGO/Citizen , Non-manufacturing industry , System/Law