On 14th March 2024, Veolia Japan and its partners inaugurated the Circular PET plastic recycling facility in Tsuyama City, Japan.
The opening ceremony welcomed distinguished guests from Veolia Japan and its partners - global trading and investment company Mitsui & Co.,Ltd. and the leading Japanese retail conglomerate, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd.
Also present at the ceremony, Sandrine Mouchet, Consul General of France in Kyoto, and Rémy Cardinet, Sustainable Development Counsellor at the French Embassy in Japan praised the commitment of these companies to tackle plastic pollution, highlighting the importance of eco-conception.
Whereas external guests were invited, it was also a celebration day for all employees who had been working on this design, development and build project and those who will be working at the plant going forward. To all of them: well done and thank you!
Keywords of the day were partnership and circularity.
Projected production:
25,000 tons of food-grade recycled PET resin annually
A 3-way joint venture
CO2 avoided emission:
27 500 tons annually
During their opening speeches, the 3 partners expressed and explained their commitments toward the circular economy of plastics
Together with Veolia Japan and Mitsui & Co., we would like to work towards the realization of a circular economy society, in collaboration with all stakeholders in the supply chain, including those who collect PET bottles, the employees who work at the Circular Pet, the brand owners who manufacture products using recycled materials, and the consumers who choose those products.
explained Ryuichi Isaka, CEO of Seven & i Holdings
Today marks a significant milestone in our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. With the opening of this state-of-the-art facility, we are taking a giant leap forward in our efforts to create a circular economy and reduce the impact of plastic waste on our planet. At Veolia, we firmly believe that recycling is not just a responsibility, but a tremendous opportunity. By transforming used PET bottles into valuable resources, we are not only conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions but most importantly, making local contributions - creating jobs and commercial opportunities here in Tsuyama.
declared Guillaume Dourdin, President and Representative Director of Veolia Japan
We firmly believe that collaborating with Veolia and 7&i to undertake this project in western Japan and Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture is in line with industry needs. We are aiming to contribute to the formation of a Circular Economy and a sustainable society in Japan and the world as a business originating from here at Circular Pet.
confirmed Toru Matsui, representative director and senior managing director of Mitsui & Co.
Honorable officials cutting the ribbon
C-PET Inauguration - Employees also celebrating!
Opening speech by Sandrine Mouchet, Consul General of France in Kyoto
C-PET Inauguration Speech by Guillaume Dourdin, CEO Veolia Japan
C-PET Site Tour: entrance
C-PET Site tour: bales of feedstock
C-PET Site Tour: Sorting line
Context:
Plastic consumption in Japan…challenges and opportunities…
A world record
Sadly, Japanese citizens hold the world record of plastic bottle consumption per capita with over 23 billion PET bottles, i.e. 183 bottles per person.
They also produce 32.4kg of packaging waste per person, per year, placing them in #2 position behind the United States.
Recycling awareness
Fortunately, Japanese citizens are also well advanced in their recycling awareness and it is 93% of these used bottles that are collected today via municipal or private collection schemes.
Processing challenge
However, whereas several recycling plants already process “good quality” bottles (meaning clean, without any label or caps), there is a crying need for treatment plants of bottles which have not yet been carefully and scrupulously sorted by people at home.
Circular PET as an direct practical and much needed answer
The newly opened Circular PET plant in Tsuyama City is designed to enable treatment of these considered difficult to recycle bottles.
In addition to the official Press Release of 14/03/24, the inauguration was relayed via national and international news channels.
Access a selection of them:
- NHK News (video & article) - Japanese
- Nikkey News (article) - Japanese
- NTV News (video & article) - Japanese
- PET Planet (article) - English
- PETnology (article) - English
- Les Echos (article) - French