The inadequate collection and disposal of plastic waste has caused marine plastic pollution to become a most pressing environmental issue. As part of the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nation Environment Assembly has implemented an initiative “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an internationally legally binding instrument”, which resolves to set up an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to draft a legally binding agreement by 2024 and to create a science-policy panel on chemicals and waste to fill the gap between science and policy. To do this, the INC needs up-to-date scientific knowledge of marine plastic pollution. The National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan researches the lifecycle of plastics─design, production, reuse, disposal, and recycling─to collect scientific findings for more effective and efficient reduction of plastic waste and pollution. This manuscript summarizes our previous studies, outlines current results, and introduces future directions of our research on the emissions and control of microplastics (plastics <5 mm in length) during recycling and management of plastic waste. We hope that the results will contribute to a better understanding of the behavior and fate of microplastics in the environment that will help us to “End Plastic Pollution”.

A combustion test is conducted for the purpose of improving the safety of the cardboard bed used in shelters. As evaluation criteria in the combustion test of the cardboard bed, the maximum value of the combustion calorie and its arrival time, the rapid rise time are defined. The effect of the parameters of presence of partitions is considered for the cardboard bed and the installation interval and evaluated its combustibility. In particular, the data for combustibility of cardboard beds is analyzed as time for combustion to improve safety in shelter by using an evaluation index. As a result, it is clarified that the combustion behavior of the cardboard bed can be evaluated by this index.

In Japan, cardboard beds are used in many disaster shelters, and research on the combustibility of cardboard beds has been conducted with the aim of further improving the safety of shelters environment. Here, the combustibility of the flame-retardant cardboard bed is considered by using the maximum combustion calorie, its arrival time, and the rapid rise time as the evaluation standard of combustion behavior. The effects of changes in the types of flame-retardant cardboard beds and parameters of installation intervals are considered on combustion behavior. From these results, it is shown that the flame retardant treatment can delay the combustion and when installed at intervals of 800 mm, it can prevent fire spread.

There is a relationship between the flame-retardant treatment and the cardboard bed, and that flame retardancy have possibility of increase the risk of fire within a certain distance.