ITOCHU Corporation and its subsidiary, Japan Sanipack, the largest plastic bag manufacturer in Japan, have developed the world's first garbage bags made with recycled marine plastic waste. They have also developed shopping baskets from recycled marine debris, which have been introduced at select FamilyMart stores.

Marine plastic pollution has become a significant global issue, demanding urgent solutions.

Tsushima City in Nagasaki Prefecture is known as "the island with the most marine debris in Japan." It is estimated that approximately 20,000 cubic meters of marine waste drifts ashore annually, posing a serious problem despite millions of yen spent each year on collection efforts that still fall short of full recovery.

While some of the collected plastic waste is recycled into oil, much of it is disposed of in landfills. Tsushima City, designated as an SDGs Future City, aims to promote the recycling of marine plastic waste.

In collaboration with Tsushima City, ITOCHU Corporation has successfully implemented marine plastic waste recycling. Japan Sanipack, ITOCHU's subsidiary and Japan's leading plastic bag manufacturer, has developed the world's first garbage bags incorporating a portion of recycled marine plastic.

ITOCHU Corporation and Japan Sanipack plan to provide some of these newly developed garbage bags free of charge to areas like Tsushima City and other regions requiring coastal cleanup activities, thereby establishing a circular economy business model to address the marine plastic waste issue.

ITOCHU Corporation believes this initiative, which also serves to raise awareness about marine plastic pollution, will contribute to reducing the generation of marine debris and lowering disposal costs in Tsushima City.

Another initiative involves repurposing this marine debris into shopping baskets. Developed through a collaboration between FamilyMart, ITOCHU Corporation, and TerraCycle Japan, these baskets utilize plastic waste washed ashore on Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, as a component of their raw materials. They have been implemented in select FamilyMart stores since February 2021.

Through the joint efforts of these three companies, shopping baskets made from recycled marine plastic waste have been developed. TerraCycle Japan sources the marine plastic waste collected from Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and collaborates with ITOCHU Corporation in their manufacturing.

The participating stores include FamilyMart Tsushima Iizuka Ohashi Branch (Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture), FamilyMart Iki Ashibe Branch (Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture), FamilyMart Iki Gounoura Higashi Branch (Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture), and FamilyMart Bayside Place Branch (Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture), totaling four locations.

*1: According to ITOCHU Corporation's research
*2: Refers to marine debris that has already entered the marine environment.
*3: Source: Tsushima City SDGs Future City Plan (Published August 26, 2020, by Tsushima City)

Reprinted from:Equally beautiful