Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. (MRI) announced on August 5, 2026 that it has been commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment to conduct the “Fiscal Year 2025 Survey and Study on Plastic Resource Circulation Strategy,” and as part of this work has launched a pilot demonstration of a collaboration model across the value chain and the recycling industry for the material recovery of plastic containers and packaging (flexible packaging). MRI serves as the overall coordinator, with nine major companies involved in flexible packaging resource circulation participating. The pilot will verify the viability of a “co-creative platform (PF) model” in which multiple companies spanning both the manufacturing and recycling sides of the industry jointly use shared equipment and technology.
The nine participating companies are (in Japanese alphabetical order): RM Tosero Co., Ltd.; Kyoeisha Chemical Co., Ltd.; ZACROS Corporation; Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.; Toyo Seikan Co., Ltd.; TOPPAN Inc.; Howa Sangyo Co., Ltd.; Hosokawa Yoko Co., Ltd.; and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.
The pilot is not intended to evaluate the performance of individual technologies or compare their relative merits. Rather, it targets label-removal and de-inking technologies being developed by multiple companies, and will verify the viability and identify the challenges of a co-creative PF model premised on the joint use of equipment and technology. The initiative comprises two specific workstreams.
The first is an assessment of the effectiveness of the co-creative PF model. The pilot will compare scenarios in which each company uses its own equipment and technology individually against scenarios in which equipment and technology are shared under the co-creative PF model, examining the effects on recycled material quality, cost competitiveness, and supply stability. It will also map out the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved across the entire supply chain—from collection through to recycling—and identify operational challenges.
The second workstream involves demonstrating label-removal and de-inking technologies using common samples. Label-removal and de-inking technologies under development by multiple companies will be applied to common samples for processing and evaluation, with the aim of identifying challenges on the path toward establishing a co-creative platform. The common samples will be designed around plastic flexible packaging materials, reflecting market scale and the significance of the demonstration, following discussion among the participating companies. The demonstration process consists of the following steps: film sample preparation, shredding, label removal and de-inking, washing, density separation and drying, and finally production of recycled rough material.
The participating companies intend to consolidate the knowledge gained through this pilot to clarify the conditions required for the co-creative PF model to succeed and the operational challenges involved, while also identifying the key issues for social implementation, commercialisation, and broader rollout. Based on the pilot results, MRI states that it will contribute to social implementation by supporting the development of resource circulation policies aimed at expanding the use of recycled materials and by helping to advance cross-industry initiatives.
【Press Release】Nine Companies Launch Pilot Demonstration of Collaboration Model Across the Value Chain and Recycling Industry for Plastic (Containers and Packaging) Resource Circulation (Ministry of the Environment Commissioned Project) – Verifying the Viability of a Co-Creative Platform Toward the Social Implementation of Label-Removal and De-inking Technologies
【Press Release】Mitsubishi Chemical: Nine Companies Launch Pilot Demonstration of Collaboration Model Across the Value Chain and Recycling Industry for Plastic (Containers and Packaging) Resource Circulation (Ministry of the Environment Commissioned Project) – Verifying the Viability of a Co-Creative Platform Toward the Social Implementation of Label-Removal and De-inking Technologies
【Press Release】Mitsubishi Chemical: Nine Companies Launch Pilot Demonstration of Collaboration Model Across the Value Chain and Recycling Industry for Plastic (Containers and Packaging) Resource Circulation
(Ministry of the Environment Commissioned Project) – Verifying the Viability of a Co-Creative Platform Toward the Social Implementation of Label-Removal and De-inking Technologies
【Press Release】TOPPAN: Nine Companies Launch Pilot Demonstration of Collaboration Model Across the Value Chain and Recycling Industry for Plastic (Containers and Packaging) Resource Circulation (Ministry of the Environment Commissioned Project) – Verifying the Viability of a Co-Creative Platform Toward the Social Implementation of Label-Removal and De-inking Technologies
【Press Release】Kyoeisha Chemical Co., Ltd.: Nine Companies Launch Pilot Demonstration of Collaboration Model Across the Value Chain and Recycling Industry for Plastic (Containers and Packaging) Resource Circulation (Ministry of the Environment Commissioned Project)
【Related Article】Amada, Tokyo Steel, and Envipro Begin Initiative for High-Quality Closed-Loop Recycling of Industrial Machinery and CO2 Visualisation
