closed recycling system of label backing release liner" Resource Recycling Project"

Members, their roles, and reason for cooperation

Companies in the supply chain cooperate to achieve circular economy and

closed recycling system.

　■Joint operating companies

　・NEION Film Coatings Corp.(Hereinafter referred to as NEION)

　　Development, design, and manufacture of label base materials.(Adhesive

processing)

　　Final separation and material recycling of unmounted release liner for

　 recycling from labels.

　・TOYOBO Co., Ltd.

　　Development, design, and manufacture of release liner for recycling.

　・Shionogi Pharma Co., Ltd.

　　Application and social Implementation of labels using release liner for

recycling.

　・TOPPAN INFOMEDIA CO., LTD.

　　Printing, ｆorming, and processing of labels, quality comparison evaluation

　　with conventional labels.

　・Mitsui Bussan Chemicals ., LTD.

　　Establishment of the LCA calculation model and awareness of the

　　business.

　・Yamato Box Charter Co.,Ltd.

　　Collection of unmounted release liner for recycling from labels and

　　optimization of the collection scheme.

　■Participating companies: 35 (as of July 2024)

Time started (or to be started)

April 2020: Project Launch (Internal Project at NEION)

March 2022: Signing of joint development agreement by 5 Companies

Fiscal year 2022-2023 : Selected for the Ministry of the Environment's 　

fiscal year 2022 carbon dioxide emission reduction measures subsidy 　

program “demonstration project for establishing a resource circulation

system for plastics and other material to support a decarbonized society”

(subsidized project, 2-year term).Established recycling technology and

equipment.

March 2023: Application of release liner for recycling to Shionogi Pharma

products (Medical Pharmaceuticals).

August 2023: NEION and Yamato Box Charter Co., Ltd. signed a logistics

partnership agreement for optimizing the Resource Recycling Project

collection scheme.

April 2024: Completion of the NEION Mie RP plant.

Technology and business model

label backing release liner typically uses composite materials of paper and 　 resin, which　are generally difficult to recycle. As a result, they become a large amount of industrial waste and are incinerated. In this project, we replace these label backing release liner with release liner for recycling made from PET-based synthetic paper. After use, the release paper is collected as valuable materials and subjected to material recycling. By using the recycled material again as a raw material for release liner for recycling, we achieve Film-to-Film recycling. This will enable the social implementation of closed recycling system of label backing release liner.

We aim to establish the recycling arteriovenous functions within the project, forming a closed-loop system where resources continuously circulate horizontally. Our goal is to realize a circular economy that achieves reduction of CO2 emissions and zero waste of release paper.

Achievements and goals

As of July 2024, 35 organizations are participating in this project and the separation and collection of release liner for recycling have already begun for eight users including Shionogi Pharma, Kao, and National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations Gifu. The recycling plant dedicated to this project, which was completed in April 2024 has started the phased recycling of release liner for recycling collected from these users.

The amount of treatment this fiscal year 2024 is expected to be approximately 15 tons, and the reduction in CO2 emissions is expected to be 169 tons. We aim to recycle 200 tons annually by 2026 and 700 tons annually by 2030. Ultimately, we are committed to achieving zero disposal of label backing release liner by implementing specific initiatives both domestically and internationally.

July 2023: Received the Packaging Technology Award - "Appropriate Packaging Award" at the Japan Packaging Contest.

September 2023: Received the "Outstanding Performance Award" at the 6th EcoPro Awards.

October 2023: Received the "Asia Star Award" at the Asia Star Contest organized by the Asia Packaging Federation.

June 2024: Received the "Excellent Award" at the 51st Environmental Award.

Reference URL

https://www.shigenjunkan.com/