Overview
- Sapporo announced on Monday that from June 15 to September 30 it will accept transparent or semi‑transparent plastic bags up to 45 liters for burnable and non‑burnable household waste.
- Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto said household buying surged in late May, city stock fell to about one quarter of normal, the city will not raise bag prices, and he asked residents to avoid hoarding.
- Sapporo has set aside a ¥190 million supplemental budget after manufacturers roughly doubled production unit costs for the municipally designated bags.
- Chiba city reported about 20 million designated bags in stock at the end of May, said it has a three to four month supply, will not raise prices, and urged people to buy only what they need.
- The shortfall stems from higher crude oil–linked polyethylene costs that raised production prices, so municipalities are monitoring inventories, specifying acceptable alternative‑bag standards, and using budget moves to keep collection services running.