■Preventing plastic leakage from rice fertilizer

A white grain of about 2 mm mixed in with the driftwood on the shore. In fact, this is a plastic shell that covers the fertilizer used in rice farming. The fertilizer currently used in rice farming is covered in a plastic shell, and when moisture penetrates, the shell breaks and the ingredients gradually dissolve. If it is spread in the spring, there is no need for additional fertilizer, so it is useful for aging farmers. However, in recent years, with the growing interest in marine pollution caused by plastic waste, it has become a problem that plastic shells that have lost all of their fertilizer ingredients are flowing out of rice paddies into rivers and the sea without decomposing. Three industry groups, JA Zennoh, the National Compound Fertilizer Industry Association, and the Japan Fertilizer and Ammonia Association, have set a goal of "realizing agriculture that does not rely on plastic-coated fertilizers by 2030," but it will take some time to develop and popularize alternative fertilizers. Meanwhile, Takaaki Higashihama, representative of SUSTAINABLE JAPAN, based in Kumamoto Prefecture, aims to popularize a plastic recovery device that he developed himself. At Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School, students led by teacher Masahiro Yamane are also working on developing alternative fertilizers.