South Australian law on single-use plastic packaging coming into force on 1 September will ban polyethylene containers known as shoyu-tai in Japan

The device known as shoyu-tai (or soy-sauce snapper in Japanese) was invented in 1954 by Teruo Watanabe, the founder of Osaka-based company Asahi Sogyo, according to a report from Japan’s Radio Kansai.

It was then common for glass and ceramic containers to be used but the advent of cheap industrial plastics allowed the creation of a small polyethylene container in the shape of a fish, officially named the “Lunch Charm”.

The invention quickly spread around Japan and eventually worldwide, and it is estimated that billions have been produced.

  • catsarebadpeople@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    5·
    1 day ago

    Kind of but it’s still a fraction of the waste created. Not perfect but I’d say the polyethylene ones take up 5 to 10 times more space in a landfill or ocean.