" Paper Cup to Paper Cup" - Recycling of beverage paper cups

Members and key points of collaboration

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

Tokan Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.

Three companies - a paper cup base manufacturer, a cup processing manufacturer, and an end-user company of those cups - have collaborated to build a recycling chain for used paper cups, achieving a horizontal recycling scheme of paper cups.

Start date

December 2022: Selective collection of used paper cups on aircrafts begins

June 2024: Trial provision of recycled paper cups for beverages on aircraft

Project Overview

This is the first project in Japan to recycle used beverage paper cups back into beverage paper cups.

In order to reduce waste and increase recycling of paper resources, three companies in the supply chain collaborated to endeavor the horizontal recycling from paper cups to paper cups.

In Japan, paper cups are not generally distributed as recovered paper because　they are classified as prohibited items for recycling due to reasons such as beverage residue stains, composite materials of paper and plastic film, and waterproofing.

Therefore, there is no general understanding that paper cups are a recyclable paper resource.

In consideration of recycling into beverage cups, we have created our own recycling chain that can trace a series of processes from selective collection, storage, transportation, re-pulping, and recycled base paper production.

The re-pulping facility is a dedicated processing facility for food and beverage paper containers, which separates paper and plastic films as well as being equipped with deinking and dust removal equipment.

The facility, which allows the special management to prevent contamination of harmful substances and other foreign materials, was newly installed at Nippon Paper Industries Fuji Mill.

The project flow is as follows

① Nippon Paper Group (NPI-G) manufactures cup base paper and provides it to Tokan Kogyo

② Tokan Kogyo forms the cup base paper into paper cups and provides them to the JAL Group (JAL-G)

③ JAL-G uses the paper cups when serving beverages to passengers on domestic flights

④ JAL-G sorts and collects used paper cups on board with the cooperation of passengers

⑤ JAL-G delivers the collected paper cups to NPI-G for recycling

⑥ NPI-G crushes, washes, packages and accumulates the paper cups

⑦ NPI-G produces recycle pulp from the paper cups at the dedicated recycling facility at the Fuji Mill and uses it as raw material for cup base paper

⑧ Return to ①

Achievements and Goals

The collection of used paper cups began in December 2022, starting with Tokyo（Haneda）-Okinawa(Naha) routes to/from Haneda Airport, and has expanded to Kyushu (Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka) and Hokkaido (New Chitose, Asahikawa).

In June 2024, as the first step in horizontal recycling from paper cups to paper cups, paper cups with 25% recycled paper content, partly made from paper cups collected on board were manufactured and used for a limited time for JAL domestic flights departing from Haneda.

In addition to paper cups, recycled pulp from paper cups can also be used for cardboard and household paper.

In the future, we aim to establish the recycling of beverage paper cups as a social norm and to further expand the use of recycled paper cups.

Reference URL

https://www.jal.com/ja/jal-group-spirit/230224/

https://press.jal.co.jp/ja/release/202405/008087.html

https://www.nipponpapergroup.com/news/year/2022/news221118005349.html

https://www.tskg-hd.com/news/detail/20240530_newsrelease.html