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There may be no one in the class who has never used a plastic bottle. At the same time, everyone has thrown it away at least once, so what is the life cycle of a plastic bottle?
My one-week waste record -76words
My one-week waste record -76words
Plastic bottles
Container of toothpaste
Packaging of penne
Packaging of cafe au lait
Labels on plastic bottles
Packaging of natto
milk carton
Packaging of medicines
Packaging of Kiri cheese
Can of tuna
Jam Jar
Other trash
（Facial tissues, Masks, Food waste, etc...)
From this waste record, I realized that I threw away many kinds of trash. The reason that I run out of its contents was applied to most of the waste. Also, I found that I use a lot of plastic in my daily life. In the old days, many products were packed with paper and drinks were kept in glass bottles. Today, plastics play those roles. So, I realized how much our lives depend on plastic.
Detail of the item -71words
Detail of the item -71words
This is the waste I choose. This is a plastic bottle containing water.
Having finished drinking water, I decided to throw this away. This waste reveals to me that I do not drink much water. I usually drink 2 liters of water per a week at home. I know that drinking a lot of water is good for my beauty and health but I can't drink a lot especially in winter.
Personal Narrative -308words
Personal Narrative -308words
I don't remember when I first encountered this item, but the first time I saw a plastic bottle was probably at the hospital where I was born or the first time I went to my own house. I remember I used to not be able to open them by myself because my hands were too small and the bottle caps were too hard to open.
When I was a kid, I thought "plastic bottles = juice". Now I use plastic bottles a lot, but I usually used my water bottle when I went out in my childhood. So, the plastic bottles reminded me as a kid of happy times, like eating with friends or Christmas parties. I thought it was very interesting to see the different shapes of bottles for carbonated juice and regular juice.
The first time I used plastic bottles a lot was when I was in high school. When I was in high school, I was a member of the mountaineering club. Water bottles are heavy to carry, so I often took plastic bottles with me when I went to the mountains.
I believe that plastic bottles have three characteristics. The first is that they are lightweight, the second is they can be purchased anywhere, and the third is that they are durable. I believe that these features cause plastic bottles to be widely used around the world. Now, for many people, not just me, plastic bottles play an important role in our lives.
In fact, I feel less guilty than when I throw out other garbage. This is because I can clearly sort them when I throw them away. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I take off the caps, peel off the labels, and put the clear plastic bottles together in the garbage. Sometimes I feel sad when I see garbage left in front of my house without the labels removed.
Life Cycle Assessment -494words
Life Cycle Assessment -494words
1. Creation of the item:
The raw material for Plastic bottles is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), which is made from oil. The history of Plastic bottles is newer than I had expected. The Plastic bottle was created in the United States by Nathaniel Wyeth and was first used in Japan in 1977 as a soy sauce container(LEMELS N-MIT). One of the characteristics of Japanese Plastic bottles is that they are very lightweight. In recent years, many Plastic bottles in the 10g range have been developed. I assume that many of you have been surprised at the softness of Plastic bottles at least once. This less weight tendency prevents the amount of CO2 emission from increasing while the number of production increases.
This graph shows that CO2 emissions have not changed much over the last 20 years, while the number of plastic bottles produced has increased. (The Japan Containers Packaging Recycling Association)
The raw material for plastic bottles is first formed into an elongated shape. It is then heated to 100 degrees Celsius, placed in a bottle-shaped mold and inflated with air from the inside. Once cooled, the plastic bottle is complete. (プラスチックのはてな)
2. Journey to Japan:
Since there are many Plastic bottle factories in Japan, these bottles would be transported by ship or truck. First, they are transported to large warehouses in each region, and then moved to the respective supermarkets and convenience stores. In addition, they will be also delivered by someone to the large number of vending machines in Japan.
The plastic bottle I threw away contained "Oze no oishii mizu". Refer to the homepage, Its water was from either Oze factory or Kawaba factory. So I guess that the empty plastic bottle was moved to the factory and got water there.
3. Coming to my home:
We can buy bottled drinks at various places, for example, supermarkets, convenience stores, and vending machines. I bought 2 liters of water for drinking at home at a supermarket and carried it by bicycle. It was probably about 80 yen. A 500ml bottle costs more than 100 yen if you buy it at a convenience store, so it is cheaper to buy it at a supermarket. However, when I buy tea or juice outside, I use convenience stores or vending machines because they are convenient.
4. Usage journey:
Depending on the product, plastic bottles are usually not used for long. A condiment bottle lasts several months, a 2L drink bottle lasts a week or two, and a 500ml drink bottle is thrown away within a day. Sometimes people keep them to put other things in or for crafts, but they are usually thrown away quickly because they took up too much space in our house. Also, it may be because new ones are readily available. Plastic bottles, if thrown away properly, go to recycling plants. The following shows how plastic bottles are reused.
Collecting → Sorting →Making them together
→These are melted and turned into small grains called flakes or pellets.
Eventually, these are turned into new products!
You can see examples in this site.↓
↑This video shows how the plastic bottles are recycled in Japan.
↓This video shows how plastic bottles are turned into fiber in India.
There is an interesting project, which is called "Bottle to Bottle."
Plastic bottles are changed to plastic bottles again by recycling.
This reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 70%.
We should properly sort plastic bottles to accomplish this project!
Reflection and Providing Alternatives -332words
Reflection and Providing Alternatives -332words
I was surprised at the high recycling rate of plastic bottles. According to the graph1, the recycling rate in 2023 is 85% and has consistently been above 80% for the last 10 years (2023:The Council for PET Bottle Recycling). In addition, I learned that various efforts are being made to achieve this. I think it is a wonderful idea to prevent other garbage from getting mixed in by putting stickers on them and changing the shape of the garbage box.
Through this final assignment, I learned the importance of sorting garbage. Today, it is recommended to remove labels and caps from plastic bottles in many regions. There are three reasons to remove labels. The first is to make the recycling process more efficient, the second is to maintain high quality recycling, and the third is to remove foreign matter other than Plastic bottles.A little effort on our part goes a long way toward recycling.
I was also surprised by the variety of recycled plastic bottle products. The recycled products of plastic bottles can be divided into three categories. For example, textiles such as suits and carpets, and sheets such as clear files and food packets. Furthermore, I learned for the first time that they can be turned into plastic bottles again.
Although recycling plastic bottles seems to have all the advantages, there are several problems. One of them is the cost. It costs a lot of money to collect and remove the waste. However, I believe that recycling plastic bottles protects the earth and the environment. So I thought what we can do to make recycling more popular is to take off the labels and caps.
The recycling rate for plastic bottles in Japan is very high compared to the rest of the world: 86% in Japan, about 20% in the U.S., and 42% in Europe in 2021(The Council for PET Bottle Recycling). This rate can be attributed to the character of the Japanese people and their technology. That is why we need to make small efforts to continue this trend!!!
↑Graph 1: Recycle rate in Japan
↑The sticker and the garbage box
Coca Cola Bottlers Japan Inc. is a leading company in addressing sustainability issues.You can see more details from this site.→
Reference(APA)
Reference(APA)
Coca Cola BOTTLERS JAPAN INC. (Reference date:2025/1/22). コカ・コーラ ボトラーズジャパン株式会社. 参照先: サスティナビリティー 「資源」への取り組み: https://www.ccbji.co.jp/csv/environment/
LEMELS N-MIT. (Reference date:2025/1/23). "Nathaniel Wyeth The Plastic Soda Bottle". : https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/nathaniel-wyeth#:~:text=Nathaniel%20Wyeth%27s%20most%20famous%20invention,is%20the%20plastic%20soda%20bottle
smf. (2023/6/21). "History of Plastic Water Bottles: How Did They Become So Ubiquitous? ": https://smfgmbh.com/history-of-plastic-water/
The Council for PET Bottle Recycling. (Reference date:2025/1/22). PETボトルリサイクル推進協議会. 参照先: https://www.petbottle-rec.gr.jp/
The Japan Containers Packaging Recycling Association. (Reference date:2025/1/22). 公益財団法人 日本容器包装リサイクル協会. 参照先: リサイクル工場を見てみよう: https://www.jcpra.or.jp/consumer/factory/tabid/739/index.php
一般社団法人プラスチック循環利用協会. (2024/12/23). プラスチックのはてな. 参照先: ペットボトルのリサイクル: https://www.pwmi.jp/library/library-247/
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