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.

    • plyth@feddit.orgEnglish
      31·
      1 day ago

      Nothing is ever produced by them that isn’t bought by someone who should have said no.

      If companies are to blame then that’s the media companies who don’t inform the consumers about their responsibilities but instead sell ads for harmful products.

      • GenosseFlosse@feddit.orgEnglish
        1·
        2 hours ago

        If corporations would not give people the choice of buying one way plastic containers, then no one would buy them.

      • hark@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        16 hours ago

        Good luck relying on informed customers when customers are too busy living their lives to keep track of a billion different reasons for why they shouldn’t buy one product over another. Also, these are given out at restaurants. Do you recommend refusing to go to a restaurant if they happen to see this dispenser being included there?

        How is making sure millions of people are informed and making the “correct” decision every time a better solution than simply restricting on the supply side?

        • plyth@feddit.orgEnglish
          1·
          15 hours ago

          It’s the only way to make a change. Businesses can buy politicians to avoid regulations.

          • hark@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            5 hours ago

            It’d cost more to buy out the politicians than to switch to the sachets that are still allowed. The sachets are cheaper to produce since they use less plastic and businesses would be happy to be “forced” to switch to a cheaper alternative along with all their competitors.

      • turtlesareneat@discuss.onlineEnglish
        2·
        20 hours ago

        No, you can’t blame consumers for corporations bad behavior, consumers act in their own self interest, not a collective self interest. This is precisely why we have regulations.