Toyo Ink and ITOCHU to Partner in Building Plastic Recycling Scheme for Multilayer Packaging
March 11, 2021Toyo
Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., the parent company of the specialty chemicals manufacturing
conglomerate Toyo Ink Group, and ITOCHU Corporation, a leading global trading
house, have entered into a cooperative agreement to establish a plastic
recycling scheme for the recovery and reuse of multilayer film packaging
materials. Specifically, by using their respective technologies and vast
business networks, the two firms will develop the materials technology needed
to create real circularity of multilayer flexible packaging by making currently
unrecyclable multilayer plastic packaging into a recyclable material by 2022.
The collective goal is to boost the plastic material recycling rate to more
than 40% in Japan and abroad. At present, the recycling rate in Japan is about
27%.
Recently, the waste problem
of single-use plastics has been attracting global attention. In Japan, while
about 16% of plastic waste is simply burned, buried, or otherwise processed
without being reused, about 56% relies on incineration methods, such as the
thermal recycling and heat reclaiming. Currently, large amounts of plastic are
not recycled.
Unique Deinking & Delamination Technology
To address the plastic waste issue, in 2019,
Toyo Ink, in cooperation with a leading environmental solutions provider,
developed an innovative plastic recovery technology for multilayered flexible
packaging, where a deinking coating agent and a delaminating adhesive are
applied to the plastic film surrounding the ink layers (see figure 1). After
use, the packaging waste is subjected to an alkaline treatment in which the
coating agent, adhesive and interlaying ink layers are cleanly released from
the film substrate. This results in the recovery of high-quality plastic
material (see figure 2) that can then be reused to create products of new
value. A pilot plant based on this plastic recovery process is currently being
built in Japan and is set to become operational later this year.
Promoting Eco Packaging Design &
Technology
Under the agreement, ITOCHU will widely promote
environmental solutions to food and daily necessities manufacturers, retailers
and brand owners, by encouraging the development of packaging structures that
use of this recycling technology and by promoting eco packaging design. In
addition, ITOCHU will acquire exclusive marketing rights in Japan and
preferential negotiation rights in Asia and Europe related to major product
materials related to this recycling technology.
“We are delighted to partner with ITOCHU in this ambitious project,” said Shiina Harako, Project Manager, Marketing Division at Toyo Ink Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Company. “The ITOCHU Group brings to the table a whole host of major players in the global packaging value chain who share our vision of creating a recycling-oriented society. Through this partnership, we hope to carve a clear path to realizing a circular economy for post-industrial plastic waste in Japan and elsewhere. This initiative is also a major step in Toyo Ink’s strategic plan to start a post-industrial recycling business in 2022, and a post-consumer recycling business in commercial plants by 2025.”