JEPLAN Group: PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY signs “Agreement on Bottle to Bottle (Horizontal Recycling) Promotion Project” with Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, Asahi Soft Drinks , and Far East Ishizuka Green PET － Bottle to Bottle Recycling Collaboration Promotes Recycling of PET Bottles in Japan － - JEPLAN, INC.

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PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Daigo Iga; hereinafter “PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY”), a group company of JEPLAN, INC. (Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Masaki Takao; hereinafter “JEPLAN”) has signed an agreement titled “Agreement on the Promotion of Bottle-to-Bottle (Horizontal Recycling) Initiatives for PET Bottles” on Friday, October 10, together with Suita City, Osaka Prefecture (Mayor: Keiji Goto), Asahi Soft Drinks Co. (President: Taichi Yoneme; hereinafter "Asahi Soft Drinks"), Far East Ishizuka Green PET (President: Shinichi Yasuda; hereinafter "Far East Ishizuka Green PET") , to promote the recycling of PET bottles in Japan.

Under this agreement, used PET bottles collected from households in Suita City will be recycled into raw materials for new PET bottles using a combination of two recycling methods: “chemical recycling*¹” by PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY and “mechanical recycling*²” by Far East Ishizuka Green PET. Asahi Soft Drinks will utilize these two recycling methods to manufacture and sell beverage products made from recycled PET resin. Through this initiative, the four parties will cooperate to improve the horizontal recycling rate of PET bottles. This initiative will not only reduce the consumption of petroleum-derived PET resin, the raw material for PET bottles, but also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated during the manufacturing process.

Chemical recycling breaks down used PET bottles to the molecular level and removes impurities such as pigments and metals, so that PET products that are difficult to recycle with conventional recycling methods due to their shape or other reasons can be recycled into recycled PET resin of the same quality as that derived from petroleum. In this initiative, Far East Ishizuka Green PET will chemically recycle powdered PET components generated in the mechanical recycling process, which will further improve the recycling rate compared to mechanical recycling alone. This two-step recycling method achieves a high horizontal recycling rate and promotes "bottle-to-bottle" resource recycling.

The JEPLAN Group will continue to promote collaboration with domestic and overseas partners to realize its mission of "We circulate our world," and the group as a whole will strive to drive the circular economy.

*¹ A method to recycle PET bottles into raw materials of the same quality as petroleum-derived PET resin by breaking them down 
to the molecular level, removing impurities, and polymerizing them.
*²  A method to recycle PET bottles by sorting, crushing, washing, and removing impurities under high temperature.

■ Bottle-to-bottle recycling initiatives promoted by the JEPLAN Group
（https://bringbottle.jeplan.co.jp/）
The JEPLAN Group promotes bottle-to-bottle recycling initiatives in cooperation with local governments throughout Japan. Our goal is to create a society in which objects that have reached the end of their useful lives are recycled as valuable resources rather than as waste. As part of this initiative, we are implementing the "Welcome Back PET Bottle Action," an activity to collect PET bottles and recycle them back into PET bottles. In Japan, approximately 640,000 tons¹of PET bottles are manufactured and sold annually. The recycling rate is about 85%(²).However, only about 34%*³of PET bottles are recycled as PET bottles. We aim to recycle the remaining 66% of PET bottles as bottle-to-bottle recycling, and are working to further promote resource recycling.
*^1,2,3 PET Bottle Recycling Annual Report 2024 (PET Bottle Recycling Promotion Council): https://www.petbottle-rec.gr.jp/nenji/2024/2024.pdf

■ Suita City, Osaka Prefecture (https://www.city.suita.osaka.jp/)
Mayor: Keiji Goto

■ Asahi Soft Drinks Corporation (https://www.asahiinryo.co.jp/index.psp.html )
President and Representative Director: Taichi Yoneme

■ Far East Ishizuka Green PET Corporation (https://www.figp.co.jp/)
President and Representative Director: Shinichi Yasuda

【The original press release is in Japanese】

ペットリファインテクノロジーが、大阪府吹田市、アサヒ飲料、遠東石塚グリーンペットとともに「ペットボトルのボトルtoボトル推進事業に関する協定書」を締結.PDF