City-designated trash bags in Japan are running low as the conflict in the Middle East puts a strain on supplies of naphtha, a key ingredient in plastic.?

In many parts of Japan, municipalities require residents to use specially designated trash bags, which can be found in local supermarkets and drug stores, as a way to charge a fee for garbage collection.?

With social media-driven panic buying also compounding the shortage problem, however, some local authorities have moved to permit the use of regular plastic garbage bags for disposal.

On Monday, residents of the city of Tomigusuku in Okinawa Prefecture?were given approval to use regular, standard size transparent or half-transparent bags to dispose of their trash for the foreseeable future and were asked not to hoard city-designated bags.

The cities of Isesaki?in Gunma Prefecture and Kamisu in Ibaraki Prefecture announced similar measures earlier this week, allowing residents to use regular trash bags until around the end of May or June.??

Isesaki city said the lack of supply at storefronts was due to reports on the naphtha shortage, causing sales of designated garbage bags to double from previous years. Kamisu city, meanwhile, added that shortages at their stores were also the result of delays in deliveries to retailers during the Golden Week holiday.?

Since the end of last month, netizens have taken to social media to post photos of barren shelves at their local stores, with some users observing the garbage bags being resold online at higher prices on sites like Mercari.?

Many municipalities say they will be able to secure a supply of bags?but point out that the buzz online and anxiety over the situation in the Middle East has led to panic buying, further depleting what they have in stock.

Other local authorities have made public announcements reassuring residents that bags are being manufactured at the same pace as before and urged people to refrain from hoarding.

According to media reports, South Korea experienced a similar situation last month, where fear over the possible shortage of garbage bags led to widespread panic buying.