Think the Earth

Keep an eye out for this bee ©Japan Environment PLANning Co., Ltd.

The coffee tumbler you use every day. Old pair of glasses you no longer wear. Plastic toys your children loved playing with growing up. Why not help build a new future by recycling these items that may otherwise end up in the trash?

Tumblers, glasses, and many toys are, for the most part, made of plastic. Nevertheless, they are treated very differently from PET bottles, which are currently being recycled according to the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law. Plastic products we use day to day that do not fall under this law end up being incinerated or in the landfill. In order to recycle these products to become a better recycling society, the Ministry of the Environment will begin supporting the "PLA-PLUS PROJECT" (run by the Japan Environment PLANning Co., Ltd.), which "aims to recycle 100% of the plastic product waste in Japan," on November 15.

This is the third time this project has been launched. It is actually a sister project to "FUKU-FUKU" we introduced in one of our Think Daily news. Once again, 46 companies that are well known to consumers like MUJI (Ryohin Keikaku), Aeon, Starbucks Japan, BicCamera, and Japan Toys "R" Us have taken part (collection points will be available by 22 of these companies) and 400,000 people will receive collection bags bearing the bee character, which some of you may already know from the "FUKU-FUKU Project."

The collected plastic products will be melted down and reborn as plastic materials or plastic products (physical recycling), converted into oils or other chemical raw materials (chemical recycling), or used to explore new possibilities for recycling.

According to data gathered in 2011, of the 9.52 million tons of plastic waste, which includes PET bottles, 22% was recycled into plastic materials and products, and 4% into chemical raw materials. These are small percentages, so that must be why they are still exploring new possibilities for recycling. But this doesn't mean that 74% of the plastic waste is not serving any purpose. 52% undergo thermal recycling, but the Ministry of the Environment has stated in its Basic Law for Promoting the Creation of a Recycling-Oriented Society that physical and chemical recycling should take precedence over thermal recycling. This may be because the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted when plastics are burned and converted into thermal energy or refuse plastic fuel, does not completely offset the level of methane gas that is created when the plastic waste is placed in landfills without being incinerated.

Creating a cleaner future by reducing our environmental impact and discovering new recycling methods. Why not help make this dream come true by recycling your plastic items? Please click here for a list of collection points and the collection schedule.