In recent years, marine wastes, mainly marine plastic waste and micro plastics, have attracted a great deal of attention not only in Japanese society but also internationally. In the G20 Energy and Environment Ministerial Meeting held in Karuizawa, Nagano in June 2016, the issue of plastic shopping bags was one of agendas. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that the plastic bags used at retail stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide must be charged as early as April 2020.

Plastic bags that have been released into the sea are difficult to collect because they are broken down by the heat of the sun and ultraviolet rays. The problem is that such plastic waste will not be completely decomposed in nature and will remain semi-permanently. Chemical substances and pollutants are adsorbed by micro plastics floating in the sea and taken into the food chain, causing bioconcentration, and there is concern about the impact on ecosystems including humans.

Shokukanken can provide micro plastic examination (microscopic analysis and substance identification by FT-IR. In microscopic analysis, samples such as seawater, drinking water, salt, and microplastic contained in the intestinal tract of organisms are observed with a microscope, and their size, shape, and number are measured. In the substance identification by FT-IR analysis, the micro plastic material is examined in more detail.