Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP) is lending its support to the first quantitative study for the reduction of plastic waste in Japan.
Dow will provide financial assistance to study the impact of plastic waste and debris on the Edogawa River and the Ohori River of the Kanto prefecture in Japan.
In 2016, Dow announced that it will spend $2.8m in the next two years to develop solutions that address global marine debris and litter.
Dow, along with Tokyo University of Science (TUS) and the Japan Plastic Industry Federation (JPIF), will assess the impact of waste management solutions across the Edogawa River.
The study will offer vital data on waste volumes passing through the river, helping communities and government to enhance existing systems.
Around eight million tons of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans per annum, as per the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics Asia Pacific sustainability and advocacy leader Dr Han Zhang said: “Plastics help extends the shelf-life of food which in turn reduces carbon footprints and improve energy efficiency. Plastics is also invaluable to developers of life-saving innovations in the medical field.”
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics commercial vice president Bambang Candra said: “Plastics offer many advancements that improve our daily lives. However, not all plastic waste ends up where it should be, and this is why we want to work with our value chain partners to develop best practices to mitigate issues such as marine debris.”
Dow’s packaging and specialty plastics unit is engaged in the development of advanced and sustainable solutions for plastics.
Claimed to be one of the largest polyethylene producers in the world, the unit provides new technologies and applications for customers in the packaging, health and hygiene, transportation, consumer, and infrastructure.
