Japan: Meguri – Future Brand for Recycled Plastic Products
Japanese company Sumitomo Chemical has launched “Meguri”, a new brand for plastic products obtained through recycling technology.
The brand name “Meguri” means “circularity” in Japanese. Young employees of the company came up with the idea. According to Sumitomo Chemical, it will cover different recycled plastic products, such as acrylic resin (PMMA, poly-methyl-methacrylate), polyethylene and polypropylene produced by chemical or material recycling technologies. Announced on August 23, 2021, the company will start promoting the new brand with the recycled acrylic resin obtained from a pilot facility for chemical recycling, which is to be constructed at the Ehime Works in Niihama City (Ehime Prefecture, Japan). The new facility is scheduled to begin pilot tests in fall 2022 and start providing samples in 2023. In parallel with this project, the company plans to develop a recycling system for PMMA, from the collection of used acrylic resin to the recycling and reprocessing into products, aiming for early commercialization of chemically recycled PMMA.
Furthermore, Sumitomo Chemical plans to include polyethylene derived from municipal waste, jointly developed with Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., and polypropylene compounds for automotive parts made by recycling used plastic. The company also intends to expand the lineup of “Meguri” and “increase production and sales of these products, while also building an alliance with customers, other companies in the industry, local governments and other stakeholders for collecting plastic waste, to help develop a circular economy.”
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 1/2022, Page 25, Graphic: Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd)
