No reji bukuro, thank you!

I live in Japan where supermarkets and local governments are taking steps to reduce the amount of plastic that consumers take home, throw away, and municipalities dispose of in either incinerators or landfills.

My martial arts teacher always tells us to flow with nature. Don't fight it.

So I started to resist plastic last year. Little by little, I'm reducing the amount of plastic that comes into my apartment and goes out with the trash pickup. Last year, I got a point card from my local super market. For every bag I refuse, I get a point. Ten points is Y100, about a dollar, reward. In 2007, only five plastic bags crossed the threshold of my apartment, often bearing gifts from guests.

This year, again, no reji bukuro, register bags, please. I'm also making an effort to bring my own bento box lunch to work every day, packed in a reusable plastic container with my own wooden chopsticks. Every time I bring a home made lunch, there is one less disposable plastic lunch box and one less set of wooden chopticks in the garbage.

This year, I'm looking at alternatives - how did Japanese folks cope before plastic? This year, I'll be asking lots of older people lots of questions.