PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (President & 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”), together with the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture (Mayor: Tsuyoshi Koyano), Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Taichi Yoneme hereinafter “Asahi Soft Drinks”), and Far Eastern Ishizuka Green PET Corporation (President: Shinichi Yasuda; hereinafter “Far Eastern Ishizuka Green PET”), concluded an agreement on horizontal recycling of PET bottles on Tuesday, March 25, with the aim of promoting the recycling of PET bottles. We would also like to announce that a signing ceremony was held on the same day to mark the signing of the agreement.

With the conclusion of this agreement, the used PET bottles collected from households in Sayama City will be recycled using a combination of two methods: the “mechanical recycling (physical regeneration method)*¹” of Far East Ishizuka Green PET and the “chemical recycling (chemical regeneration method)*²” of PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY, to promote highly efficient recycling. Asahi Soft Drinks will promote recycling using these two methods, and by using recycled recycled PET raw materials in its own products, the four companies will work together to improve the recycling rate of PET bottles. This initiative will not only help to reduce the consumption of petroleum-derived resources such as PET, which is used as a raw material for PET bottles, but will also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated during the manufacturing process.

Far East Ishizuka Green PET uses mechanical recycling technology to produce raw materials for PET bottles, and the recycling process generates approximately 20% residuals. Of that, 5-10% of the PET resource residue*³ is used for recycling into products other than mainly PET bottles. PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY's proprietary PET chemical recycling technology breaks down these PET resource residues to the molecular level and removes impurities, making it possible to recycle them back into raw materials for PET bottles. By combining these two recycling methods, the residuals generated in the mechanical recycling process can be utilized for chemical recycling, further improving the recycling rate compared to mechanical recycling alone.

The JEPLAN Group will continue to work together with domestic and international partners to realize its mission of "We circulate our world," and the entire group will work together to drive the circular economy.

*1 Method of recycling PET bottles by sorting, crushing, washing, and removing impurities under high temperature
*2 A method to recycle PET bottles into raw materials of the same quality as petroleum-derived PET resin through a process of 
breaking down PET bottles to the molecular level, removing impurities, and polymerizing them.
*3 Powdered form containing a large amount of PET, which can be recycled into recycled PET resin used as raw material for 
     PET bottles by chemical recycling technology.

■ Conclusion Ceremony of "Agreement on Horizontal Recycling of PET Bottles "

Image courtesy of Sayama City (from left to right) President & Chief Executive Officer: Daigo Iga, PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., Mayor: Tsuyoshi Koyano, Sayama-city,Director and Executive Officer: Kayoko Kondo, Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd.,Representative Director & President: Shinichi Yasuda, of Far Eastern Ishizuka Green PET Corporation

■ JEPLAN Group's initiatives for bottle-to-bottle recycling（https://bringbottle.jeplan.co.jp/）
The JEPLAN Group is promoting bottle-to-bottle recycling initiatives in cooperation with local governments throughout Japan. Our goal is to create a society in which objects that have fulfilled their roles are no longer garbage but are recycled as valuable resources. 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 tons*1 of PET bottles are manufactured and sold annually. The recycling rate is about 85%*2. However, only about 34%*3 of PET bottles are recycled as PET bottles. We aim to recycle the remaining 66% of these 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

■ Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture (https://www.city.sayama.saitama.jp/ )

Mayor: Tsuyoshi Koyano

■ 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】

【JEPLANプレスリリース】ペットリファインテクノロジーが、埼玉県狭山市、アサヒ飲料、遠東石塚グリーンペットとともに「ペットボトルの水平リサイクルに関する協定」を締結.PDF