ITOCHU : Announces Development of Garbage Bag Made From Marine Debris
December 02, 2020 at 02:53 am EST
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ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter 'ITOCHU') announced today that ITOCHU and Sanipak Company Of Japan, Ltd. (headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Mitsuharu Inoue, President & COO, hereinafter 'Sanipak Japan'), our subsidiary and Japan's largest garbage bag maker developed the world's first*1 garbage bag including raw materials made from marine debris.*2
In recent years, the problem of marine debris has been attracting attention In Japan and abroad, and countermeasures are urgently needed. It is estimated that some 20,000 m3 of marine debris per year are washed ashore on the coastline of the island of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, considered the island that has the largest volume of marine debris in Japan. Hundreds of millions of yen are spent every year to collect the debris, and it is impossible to collect it all. It is a serious social issue. Some of the collected marine plastic waste is recycled into oil, but much of it is deposited in landfills. Tsushima city is working to facilitate the recycled use of marine plastic debris as a city of the future focused on the SDGs.
ITOCHU believes that marine debris is a significant social challenge and has been engaging in material recycling businesses recycling marine debris and turning it into products that are commercialized. In cooperation with Tsushima city, we have succeeded in the recycling. In addition, Sanipak Japan, leveraging the knowledge and technology it possesses as Japan's largest garbage bag maker, has developed the world's first1 garbage bag made in part with raw materials made from marine debris.
ITOCHU and Sanipak Japan plan to provide some of these new garbage bags free of charge to Tsushima city and other areas that need garbage cleaning activities on their coastlines, and will establish a recycling economy-oriented business model to resolve the problem of marine debris that society faces. We believe that this activity, which also raises awareness of marine debris, will lead to the reduction of marine debris and a reduction of the disposal expenses of Tsushima city.
ITOCHU positions ESG as a key focus in the facilitation of its businesses. This combination of recycling technology gained through product commercialization with the ITOCHU Group's network in Japan and abroad, we will create a new business model in the field of recycling and pursue the establishment of a recycling-oriented society and the sustainable development of the world.
*1According to research by ITOCHU
*2Debris that has already flowed into the marine environment
Outline of Sanipak Japan
Company name
Sanipak Company Of Japan, Ltd.
Representative
Mitsuharu Inoue
Location of head office
25-5 Hatagaya 1-chome,
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Business outline
Manufacturing and sale of polyethylene
URL
https://www.sanipak.co.jp
Marine debris washed ashore on the coastline of Tsushima
Illustration of the product
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Itochu Corporation published this content on 26 November 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 02 December 2020 07:52:00 UTC
Itochu Corporation is a diversified group organized around 8 areas of activity:
- distribution of food products (34.9% of net sales): frozen food, vegetable oil, sweeteners, sugars, etc.;
- distribution of hydrocarbons (23.3%): hydrocarbons (natural gas, oil products, bioethanol, etc.). The group also develops manufacturing of chemical products activity;
- manufacturing and sale of industrial and construction machines, vehicles and ships (9.7%);
- production of metals and coal (8.5%);
- sale of consumer products (8.4%). The group also develops forest products sale and real estate development activities;
- distribution of computing and telecommunication equipments (7%): data transmission, Internet access, media content broadcasting and mobile telephony equipments. The group also offers financial services;
- sale of textile products (3.6%);
- other (4.6%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Japan (79.5%), Singapore (5.4%), the United States (4.5%), Australia (3.1%), China (2.8%) and other (4.7%).
ITOCHU CORPORATION 
