Recovery and Reuse of Auto Parts from End-of-Life Vehicles

Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc.

When an automobile accident happens and its insurance company pay the claim in full amount of the automobile insurance, the ownership of the vehicle is transferred from the insurance policyholder to the insurance company. As a non-life insurance company, we acquire a large number of end-of-life vehicles nationwide as a result of automobile accidents. In order to reduce environmental impact, we have been making efforts to place the acquired end-of-life vehicles into recycling and reuse processes.

Low-foamed PS containers created by Low-foamed PS sheet and New molding technology.

FP Corporation Sekisui Kasei Co., Ltd.

In response to our customers' needs to further reduce the use of plastic in the market, FPCO has been conducting research on product weight reduction utilizing PSP (polystyrene paper) foaming technology in collaboration with SEKISUI KASEI CO., LTD(SEKISUI KASEI).

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

Resource Recycling Project NEION Film Coatings Corp． TOYOBO CO., LTD. Shionogi Pharma Co., Ltd.

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.

Proof of Concept Promoting Reuse in Local Communities With Mercari, Yakult Sanyo, Akitakata City, and Miyoshi City

Mercari, Inc. Yakult Sanyo Inc. Akitakada City, Hiroshima Prefecture Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture

This is a collaborative project between Mercari, Inc., Yakult Sanyo Corporation, and Akitakata City and Miyoshi City of Hiroshima Prefecture. Together, we started a proof of concept where we collect usable items that people no longer need from Akitakata City and Miyoshi City and sell them on Mercari’s e-commerce platform Mercari Shops. So far, Mercari has partnered up with a total of 38 local governments across Japan (as of July 8, 2024) to sell their unwanted items on Mercari Shops.

Eliminate Polystyrene Foam Packaging for Large TVs Using enviromentally concious biodegradable biopolymer

Sony Group Corporation

Sony has been transitioning from plastic packaging to paper packaging for small products. For larger and heavier products like TVs, polystyrene foam has remained the primary cushioning material due to it robust resistance during transportation.

Energy efficient purification of bioethanol

Sulzer Japan Limited

Sulzer’s unique design for distillation and dehydration enables bioethanol production with very low steam consumption. Our design is tailored to maximize the heat integration and minimize the OPEX for a sustainable bioethanol production. Our long-standing experience in bioethanol purification ensures a reliable and proven design for advanced bioethanol. We offer complete process plants solution for 1G-bioethanol from edible feedstocks, 2G-bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, Advanced bioethanol from gas fermentation (3G-4G).

Promoting elimination of waste (release paper), improvement of production efficiency at customers’ factories, and resource recycling support after use with the “Heat Labeling System,” which is a thermal bonding method that does not require release paper!

KOTOBUKI SEIHAN PRINTING CO.,LTD

Tack labels, to which a glue agent is applied in advance, are utilized by removing the labels from the label release paper during the process of attaching the labels to the products, and the release paper portion is no longer needed. The amount of release paper used by the entire domestic manufacturing industry is said to amount to 116 million m2 per month, most of which is disposed of or incinerated without being recovered or reused as a resource. We have developed a heat label that uses a heat-sensitive adhesive method that does not require release paper, even though it is pre-applied with a glue, thereby eliminating the need for release paper itself, which accounts for about 40% of the entire label. By proposing solutions to reduce the use of product resources from the design stage and solve the issues faced by stakeholders at each stage, we are working with our customers to reduce waste and costs incurred during the production of release paper, eliminate waste (label release paper) generated after label application, improve work efficiency during production, and support resource recycling after use.

Promoting total solution proposals that accompany customers at each stage with “thermal transfer foil”!

KOTOBUKI SEIHAN PRINTING CO.,LTD

Thermal transfer is a technique in which, by applying heat and pressure to a heat-resistant film with a pattern printed on it, the pattern (ink layer) is instantly applied to the base material (molded product). Normally, in the case of direct printing, the more multicolored the pattern, the greater the increase in base material loss due to printing errors and printing work time, resulting in poor yields and requiring more time for delivery. In the case of hydraulic transfer, not only is a large amount of waste fluid generated after the transfer process, but the process also takes time, resulting in longer time for delivery.

Launched "Wear to Fashion" in collaboration with ITOCHU Corporation to realize a truly circular fashion future.

ECOMMIT Co.,Ltd. ITOCHU Corporation

As part of our efforts to address the issue of fashion loss (clothing disposal), we launched a service called “Wear to Fashion” in 2022 in collaboration with ITOCHU Textile Company, which provides RENU, a polyester made from recycled used fibers.

The Circular Economy Lease（CE Lease) provided by Fuyo Lease

Fuyo General Lease Co.,Ltd.

The Circular Economy Lease (CE Lease) is a lease that promotes the circular economy by setting a residual value and utilizing a clause that allows the property to be returned at the end of the lease. Fuyo Lease reliably reuses and recycles products that are returned with their use value maintained, thereby extending product life and improving resource recycling.

Recycling of used backing paper (release paper) for sticker and label products

Japan-Earth Conscious Labeling

The following members of the supply chain in this resource recycling project are the constituent members. (1) Companies using stickers and labels: Proper separation of release paper and proper shipping Intermediate treatment companies: Proper collection and transportation (3) Recyclers: Utilization of release paper as a resource (4) Base material manufacturing companies: Development and manufacture of base materials that are easy to recycle (5) Printing and processing companies: Adopt easy-to-recycle base materials, print, process, sell, and promote recycling.

Upcycling of waste plastic in collaboration with local government

S.lab Inc.

・Members/roles Kamakura City: Collection of used plastic resources from citizens Keio University: Overall project management and raw material development, printing operation and design for 3D printing S.lab Inc.: Joint development and providing pellet type 3D printing equipment ・Points of collaboration We aim to upcycle used plastic materials which is collected from local communities with a high added-value 3D printer. We make it easier to carry out these activities by collaborating with local government. There are also many private companies that cooperate and provide technical assistance in our activities.