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Establish recycled, sustainable plastics market

Japan has shown its commitment in developing a circular economy and promoting sustainability through the successful hosting of the Olympic Games 2020 and the Paralympic Games.

The country has especially emphasized the concept of sustainability during the Olympics. For instance, winning athletes stood on podiums made from recycled plastic and received medals made from recycled small electronics.

Under the "Be better, together" slogan, Tokyo Games 2020 aimed to organize a sustainable world event, witnessed globally. The Recycled Plastic Victory Ceremony Podium Project was launched on June 13, 2019, with support from the P&G.

Under this project, Japanese citizens were encouraged to donate used household plastics for recycling. Collection boxes for used plastics were available in major retailers and schools around Japan.

The collected plastics were then forwarded to P&G, the partner of Tokyo 2020 in the Podium Project.

The 3D-printed victory ceremony podiums were crafted not only from post-consumer plastic waste but also from ocean waste, an International Olympic Committee Clean Seas initiative.

By recycling over 24.5 tonnes of used plastic, the Olympic Games aimed to become as sustainable as possible.

P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard said, "The Tokyo 2020 Podium Project is an example of how the Olympics can be a catalyst to inspire actions that have a positive impact on the environment and society".

After the Games, P&G is planning to re-recycle the plastic into packaging for its products. This initiative also served an educational purpose by promoting the role of the Olympic Movement in the area of sustainability.

Japan is known for its extensive recycling systems and its effective implementation of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) policy.

The country generates roughly 9 million tons of plastic waste each year (2 per cent of total waste, amounting to 430 million tons/year) and ranks second to the US, which generated 35 million tons of plastic waste in 2017, of which less than 10 per cent was recycled.

According to the Plastic Waste Management Institute, Japan has a plastics recycling rate of 84 per cent.

Data for 2017 show that about 23 per cent of plastic wastes in Japan were recycled into other plastic products; 58 per cent were converted into energy; 8 per cent were incinerated; 6 per cent were transported to landfills and 4 per cent were chemically recycled.

Malaysia can learn from this systematic waste management initiated by the Japanese government. However, Japan's use of thermal recycling (incinerating or converting waste into energy) has been criticized due to its potential negative effects on the environment.

Although the country is currently developing an incineration technology to minimize the environmental impacts of thermal recycling, the emissions from such technology poses another environmental concern.

Taking a cue from this, Malaysia can propose a roadmap or policy toward more effective recycling.

The global demand for plastic products increases annually, with the majority of the demand coming from the transportation (especially automotive and aerospace), electronics, medical, and packaging industries.

The plastics industry is undoubtedly a promising one. As such, Malaysia can support the creation of a functioning market for recycled and sustainable plastics.

Tokyo 2020 can serve as a project example wherein a solid collaboration among the government, industry, and citizens played a key role in promoting a circular economy for domestic plastic waste.


IR. DR NOR YULIANA YUHANA

Department of Chemical & Process Engineering

Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times

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