A major beverage company has signed an agreement with local governments in Hyogo Prefecture to reduce plastic waste, and has begun efforts to recycle all collected PET bottles into new PET bottles.
The agreement has been signed with Suntory Beverage & Food International and four local governments: Takasago City, Hyogo Prefecture, Kakogawa City, Inami Town, and Harima Town.
Under the agreement, a contractor designated by the local government will undertake the collection of PET bottles, recycle all of them into new PET bottles, and then reuse them by Suntory.
According to the company, until now, the local government could not specify the use of the collected PET bottles for the contractor selected by bidding, and about 80% was recycled to food trays of another company and then incinerated. It means that.
At the press conference, Managing Director Taku Nakamura said, "By uniting the residents, the government, and the companies, a recycling-oriented society will be created, so we would like to expand our efforts."
In the beverage industry, Kirin is collaborating with a major chemical manufacturer to prevent deterioration when recycling PET bottles and to start developing technology that can be recycled semi-permanently, and there is a growing movement toward the reduction of plastic waste.