Activity topics"Plan 2020" Status of our Efforts during the First Year

"Plan 2020" Action plan for paper
carton recycling

Four committees will promote activities based on theaction plan. Major activities of 2016 were as follows:
1. General Affairs Committee(1) Providing opportunities to enhance paper carton
collection
In February, we held discussion meetings to promote
recycling with various stakeholders, and in October, we
held a regional conference to promote carton recyclingin Aichi in Nagoya City. Real cases of activities toenhance the paper carton collection rate were presented,
issues were identified, and key challenges were sortedout.
(2) Promotion of paper carton collection in various typesof living environment
The committee conducted a composition analysis study
to determine the quantity of paper cartons included in
the category of miscellaneous recyclable paper products
in cooperation with the Paper Containers and Packing
Recycling Promotion Council. The committee is also
striving to survey the state of collection in Tokyo's 23
wards.
As a new approach, the committee pays attention tovarious types of living environment, taking lifecycles into
consideration, to enhance paper carton collection
activities.
(3) Promoting activities in educational facilities andlearning places
The committee searches for areas where school milk
cartons are not collected, and encourages them tocollect cartons.
(4) Enhancing communication
Through the North America visit, the committee
deepened their knowledge about the environmental
characteristics of paper cartons by exchanging
information with paper board manufacturers andrecycling facilities
2. Publicity Committee(1) Promotional and educational projects① Expansion of website
To improve the contents of our website, the committee
completely renewed two areas of contents, "Forestry
Management" and "Paper Carton Recycling Law".
② Revision of environmental panels
The committee reviewed all the panels and reorganizedthem to five panels which are easier to understand.
The panels explain that paper cartons alone should bebundled and taken to collection sites.

2

Activity topics●"Plan 2020"③ "Real Story of Paper Carton Recycling" waspublished.
In cooperation with JAMRA, the committee scaled down
"Real Story of Paper Carton Recycling" composed ofeight A4 pages to a compact version comprised of fourB5 pages.
④ The committee worked to plan and edit the Annual
Report 2017.
(2) Collection promotion projects① We installed half-size collection boxes created incooperation with the General Affairs Committee at four
locations including a convenience store in Tama City.
3. Event Committee(1) Environmental education and expansion of
educational activities through paper carton recycling① In collaboration with JAMRA, the Committee held
"Onsite Lessons on Milk Carton Recycling" at nineelementary schools, provided educational lessons to 664
students about the environment via a speech byRepresentative Hirai, and taught them how to makepostcards from handmade paper. The committee also
hosted a recycling workshop in six cities and stores.
② The committee also participated in local
environmental fairs including the Eco-life Fair 2016 andEco-products 2016.
(2) "Learn and Play" with Milk Cartons Contest
The committee worked to expand the circle of recycling
by sending direct mails to all elementary schools in thefour prefectures, which had a small number ofapplicants, to encourage them to participate more.
4. Local Organization Board(1) Active participation and support for regional
environmental activities① Regional offices of COMCEI carried out their own
educational activities to promote paper carton recycling
using various panels and booklets, and also actively took
part in regional environmental activities held by local
governments and other organizations.
② In collaboration with local governments and regional
dairy industry associations, the committee provided
educational tools and distributed toilet rolls made ofrecycled paper. By printing a questionnaire on the backof a quiz answer sheet, the committee conducted asurvey and is now utilizing the results as a reference forthe future planning.
③ The committee has made additional quiz panels,
which received favorable comments, as an effective
communication tool. They also made newcommunication tapestry which can be carried around.
(2) Issuing a mail magazine① The mail magazine featured unique local activities inorder to spread the movements to other regions andintroduce promotional materials.
② The mail magazine is sent to members of local
governments who attended the regional conference. The
subscriber list is getting longer.

Friendly Environment Loop ForumIn this forum in which members of local
governments, welfare organizations, andassociated companies participated, activities
and case examples of milk carton recycling
at welfare organizations were reported.

[Friendly Environment Loop Forum] November 1st
The Friendly Environment Loop Forum and thegeneral networking assembly, which were hosted by
JAMRA and supported by COMCEI, were held in the
TKP Ichigaya Conference Center. The theme was"The State of Ideal Paper Cartons for Beverages andTheir Suitability for Recycling". A total of 69 people
from the central and local governments, NPO's, andcompanies attended.
As the host's speech, Representative Hirai of JAMRA
explained the purpose of this forum by stating that
she realized the shapes of paper cartons havechanged not only in Japan but also in the othermarkets, a fact she noticed during her visit to Europe
in June and North America in September last year,
and that the panel discussion by paper cartonmanufacturers and manufacturers of productcontents would provide a chance to discuss witheverybody how to evolve a current recycling system,
which Japan can be proud of, in the future. Chairman
Aoyama of COMCEI explained that according to the"Plan 2020" action plan, newly developed in April
2016, JAMRA has been engaged in three activities:(1) Improving the paper carton collection rate, (2)Accurately communicating environmental benefits ofpaper cartons, (3) Increasing the number of people
who can think and act to support the environment.
In the panel discussion moderated by Representative
Director Yamamoto of Dynax Urban Environment
Research Inst., Inc., panelists from Nippon Paper
Industries Co., Ltd., Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., Dai

Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., Nihon Tetra Pak K.K., andMegmilk Snow Brand Co., Ltd. introduced theirbusiness activities. Representative Hirai presented
the recycling status of Europe and North America. In
connection with the Review of Containers andPackaging Recycling Law, the panelist from the
Ministry of the Environment commented that thiskind of forum is good opportunity to identify issues
for continuous improvements.
In the question-and-answer session, a participant
reported that manufacturers are trying to makerecycling of paper cartons easier in response to
consumers' higher demands for paper cartons with
better functionality and new shapes, such as thosewith caps. On the other hand, another participant
said that consumers are expected to put in extra
effort and cooperate in exchange for additional
convenience. A recycled paper manufacturer statedthat in context of shortage of collected paper carton
as a raw material due to exporting of paper carton
collected in Japan, efforts should be made to recycle
paper cartons with caps.
In Representative Hirai's closing speech, she
thanked the panelists and the participants of thepanel discussion for answering many questions andfor very productive session. She also asked forfurther cooperation for recycling paper cartons. In
the general networking assembly, information wasshared by many enthusiastic participants and theforum ended as great success.

Speech of the host: Representative Hirai of JAMRA

Panel discussion
Activity topics●Friendly Environment Loop Forum3

Activity topics

Regional conference for promotion of carton recycling

COMCEI held a local conference
to promote recycling throughsharing information with local
communities.

Regional conference for promotion of carton recyclingin Aichi / Nagoya City

◆Date held: Friday, October 21, 2016
◆Participants: 45 members from the Ministry of the Environment, Ministryof Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, local governments, citizen's groups, dairy product manufacturers,
paper carton manufacturing companies, and paper recyclers[Major reports and presentations on relevant issues]●On behalf of the guests of honor, a member from the
Ministry of the Environment introduced recent activitiesof the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry / theMinistry of the Environment joint council, and mentionedthat collaboration of business sectors and local
governments is important because in order for
consumers to be motivated to carry out recycling
activities, they need to understand the recycling flow.
Also, they mebtioned that it’s important to reduce theamount of food waste exhausted from generalhouseholds, and added that the council would acquiresufficient budget in the next fiscal year.
●COMCEI presented the outline of the "Plan 2020" action
plan that they started working on during this fiscal year,
and our activities including the trends in paper carton
collection rate for which we set a goal of 50%.
●According to the achievement report from Nagoya City,in February 1999, the City issued "The Garbage
Emergency Declaration" in response to a situation in
fiscal 1998 when garbage disposal volumes reachedapproximately one million tons, which nearly caused thegarbage disposal site to overflow. The city executed
activities in line with Triple 20 (during the 20th century,
reduce garbage volumes by 20% / 200,000 tons) as its

goal. Subsequently, in fiscal 2015 garbage disposal
volumes were reduced by approximately 40%, thevolume of separately collected resources doubled, andthe volume of garbage that ended up in landfills fell byapproximately 80%, compared to fiscal 1998. It wasalso reported that the recycling rate of paper cartons,
which was 28% in July 2000, increased to 48% in 2003.
● U n y C o . , L t d . s a i d t h a t t h e y a re e n g a g e d i nenvironmental activities and education aimed atdeveloping a sustainable society, and are striving to sell
products made from recycled paper cartons because asupermarket is in a business category that puts a heavy
burden on the environment.
●In the discussion, 3R status of efforts were reported withthe focus on resource collection methods, which had ahigh collection volume per capita in Inuyama City andNisshin City. Additionally, used paper recyclers andsurvey companies reported on the status of collection
methods unique to used paper recyclers, and local
governments in attendance reported the status of theirefforts and raised issues.
At the end, we reaffirmed that in order to improve therecycling rate, it is important that citizens understand theflow and results of recycling, and that current basic rules
for recycling of containers and packaging were establishedand originated by recycling paper cartons. Participants
were asked to continue to utilize COMCEI for educational
activities for citizens.

Locations of Regional Conference●Locations of Regional Conferences in 2016

●Hokkaido●Locations of past conferences

Discussion meeting with recycled paper manufacturers

Current status and challengesof paper carton recycling wereclarified.

[Meeting to exchange views with recycled paper
manufacturers] July 13
In cooperation with JAMRA, we hosted a discussion
meeting with recycled paper manufacturers in"Fujisanmesse" conference hall in Fuji City, Shizuoka
P re f e c t u re . 3 4 p e o p l e f ro m re c y c l e d p a p e r
manufacturers and used paper dealers attended.
At the beginning, COMCEI reported that they started
to develop and execute "Plan 2020" guidelines
applicable to the next five years from this fiscal year,
and the response status related to the 18th jointdeliberation council held by the ammendment of the
Recycling Law. They also mentioned that they would
like to acknowledge the goal of achieving a recycling
rate of 50% by fiscal 2020 again even though aserious situation exists in which the volume of paper
cartons that cannot be counted increases as thenumber of local governments collecting
miscellaneous recyclable papers increases.
Then, Nihon Tetra Pak K.K. presented “Paper Carton
Recycling Practices in Europe" including therecycling rates of EU, decision process for setting
standards such as those for recycling, and how
the goals of member countries are decided.
Representative Hirai of JAMRA said that theconditions of recycling sites in Europe are not good
because European people do not wash recyclables.
And she thought, looking at the markets in Europe,that she should exchange views on increasing paperplastic mixed containers with container
manufacturers to discuss dilemma with simple
containers and packages which are easier forrecycling.
In the discussion, recycled paper manufacturers
explained that as the reduction in collection/supply
quantity is significant, they deal with it by shifting
acquisition routes, meanwhile due to the downturn inoverseas markets, exports dropped sharply, andcollected paper cartons flow mainly into the westernregion. It was also mentioned that COMCEI realizes
the need to organize information to deal withinquiries from organizations that do not know where
to take the paper cartons they have collected. In themeeting with local governments, it was pointed outthat general changes in the household size may be
influencing recycling trends.
At the end, container manufacturers and dairy
product manufacturers that are members of COMCEI
introduced recycling procedures they carried out int h e i r o ff i c e s . A t t e n d a n t s a c k n o w l e d g e d t h eimportance of recycling.

●Aomori●IwateYamagata● ●Miyagi
Niigata●●Fukushima

Ishikawa●●GunmaNagano●●Ibaraki
Saitama●
Fukui●●Gifu
Kanagawa ●Tokyo
Shimane●●
Kyoto Shiga ●Aichi●Chiba●●Okayama●●Shizuoka
Hyogo ●
●Mie
Hiroshima●
Osaka●

Kitakyushu●
Fukuoka●
Saga●
●Oita

●Ehime●Tokushima●Kochi●Kumamoto●Okinawa

Conference

Meeting place Fujisanmesse

Regional conference in Aichi

4

Activity topics●Regional conference for promotion of carton recycling

Activity topics●Discussion meeting with recycled paper manufacturers

5Activity topics

Discussion meeting to promote recycling

An important forum to exchange
views on the recycling-related current
status and issues among relevantorganizations.

A meeting to discuss how to promote recycling of
paper cartons used for beverages was held on
February 4 in the Nyugyo Kaikan conference hall in
Kudanshita, Tokyo. A total of 58 people attended fromthe Recycling Promotion Section and Paper Industry
Consumer and Recreational Goods Division of the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Food Industry
Environment Policy Office of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, local authorities, citizen's
groups, and NPO associations.
In the opening speech, Chairman Kishida (then)explained how recycling of paper cartons started, andstated that COMCEI has been continuously working topromote recycling based on the "Plan 2020" action
plan for recycling of paper cartons used for beverages
developed by COMCEI. After that, the participant from
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
stated that popularizing the concept of a recyclingbased society is important because it is difficult - andimportant - to make consumers understand theimportance of reducing the use of containers. The
participant from the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry mentioned that the ministry expects thatrecycling promotion activities continue to be carriedout as the ministry set the target of Utilization rate ofrecycled paper to 65% in the previous fiscal year andwould like it to go effective from this April.
As a report on the status of recent efforts, COMCEI
explained that the aim of "Plan 2015" is to help createa society that puts a low burden on the environment

and where each person thinks about the environment
and acts according to three objectives: improving therecycling rate, accurately communicating
environmental benefits, and increasing the number ofpeople who can think and act to support theenvironment. After that, the chairmen from fourcommittees reported on their activities. ECOIPS
reported, as survey results, that the collection rate ofpaper cartons for beverages in fiscal 2014 was 44.7%,
0.1pt. increase, the collection rate of used paper
cartons was up as well, and trade prices of paperc a r t o n s c o l l e c t e d v i a m u n i c i p a l i t y a n d g ro u pcollections are rising.
In the discussion, a recycled paper manufacturer
stated that even if the collection rate goes up, sales
volume of products has been dropping and supply
quantity of used paper cartons has not been
increasing, which requires them to ask their customers
not to indicate "made from 100% recycled tissue
paper" as other materials be mixed in. Even if we lookat the material flow in the survey results, it is not easy
to gain an understanding of whether uncollected paper
cartons are mixed in with burnable garbage or whether
they are exported. More paper cartons are mixed into
other types of used paper such as miscellaneous
recyclable paper every year. It was pointed out that
there is a discrepancy between the survey figures andreality. A representative of citizen's groups said thatmixing paper cartons in with miscellaneous recyclable
paper or burnable garbage is a problem and that PR
for local governments and education for residents are
required. Thus, many issues were raised.
At the end, the participant from COMCEI stated thatthey would like to go back to the starting point of
separate collections to solve the issues raised during
the meeting by focusing on the issue of miscellaneous
recyclable paper in order to improve more on collection
rate because they could not take a step forward inspite of the fact that they tried to make improvementfrom the previous fiscal year and participated thismeeting.

Host's speech: Kishida, COMCEI Chairman (then)Stakeholders[28th Discussion Meeting to Promote Recycling ofPaper Cartons for Beverages]

6

Activity topics●Discussion meeting to promote recycling

Milk carton recycling workshop

An enjoyable workshop where people
learn about the current status ofrecycling and experience it first hand.

COMCEI holds a milk carton recycling workshop every year aimed atboosting consumers' understanding of the current status of paper
carton recycling and forestry management in terms of securing
materials for producing paper. The workshop also raises consumers'
interests in milk carton collection through practical teaching.

[Nishitokyo City] August 9
Nishitokyo City planned a "Summer Vacation
Research Project" event and held a workshop in
cooperation with JAMRA. In extreme heat, 46
elementary school students and 20 parents
participated. In the workshop, they learned about therecycling status of milk cartons in Japan throughquizzes and other fun activities. In a postcardmaking activity, they made original postcards using
handmade paper and were amazed by the beauty ofmilk carton pulp, and managed to find ways toexpress their creativity.

Contents of milk carton recycling workshop- Lecture "On resources and forestry management""Milk cartons are a quality resource"-V iewing and listening DVD "Milk Packn's Expedition"- E xperience "Making postcards from handmade
paper (using pulp from milk cartons)""Disassembling milk cartons by hand"- Question corner "Recycling educational panel""Making an original postcard made from handmade paper"[Sagamihara City] July 29[Noda City] October 15

The workshop was held at Hashimotodai Recycling
Square again this year. Forty seven people including
elementary school students, preschool children andtheir parents participated. Children listened intently
to JAMRA Representative Hirai's speech on how
recycling activities began and spread after that. They
received a completion certificate for the workshop
and a commemorative gift from "Shigenjya Paper
Pink", one of the image characters of the city's
resource recycling program. The workshop was agreat success.

Noda City hosts the "Noda City Recycle Fair" every
year that features used book market, flea market,
and other events. As part of the fair, a workshop washeld in which a total of 19 people, consisting of 14
citizens and five civil servants, participated. Most of
the participants were adults. Many of them took
notes during the workshop, showing a high level ofawareness regarding recycling. In a handmade
paper-making activity, adult participants enjoyed theexperience in a friendly atmosphere. All of them,including the civil servants, completed making
original postcards from handmade paper.

Disassembling milk cartons by hand

Lecture by Representative Hirai

Activity topics●Milk carton recycling workshop

7

Activity topics

Onsite lessons on milk carton recycling[Ome City Imai Elementary School, Tokyo]
September 27
Imai Elementary School had been teaching fourth graders
about recycling for about a month. As part of thiseducation, we ran an on-site lesson involving lectures anda postcard making activity. As their school lunch milk isfilled in glass bottles, they couldn’t "rinse, open and dry"at school, however, continued recycling-focused education
will raise awareness of recycling at home (Seventy seven
fourth graders attended the lesson).

At a children's place of learning.
"Onsite lessons" are welcomed
every year at elementary schools
across the country.

In 2016, in collaboration with JAMRA, the Committee
held "Onsite Lessons on Milk Carton Recycling" atelementary schools across the country.
Content of onsite lessons- Lecture "On resources and forestry management""Milk cartons are a quality resource"-V iewing and listening DVD "Milk Packn's Expedition"- E xperience "Making postcards from handmade
paper (using pulp from milk cartons)"- Question corner "Recycling explanation panel"

Experiencing peeling of polyethylene film

Lesson by Representative Hirai[Okazaki City Yamanaka Elementary School, Aichi
Prefecture] July 12[Saga City Wakakusu Elementary School, Saga
Prefecture] November 9

An onsite lesson held at the historical Yamanaka Elementary
School, founded in 1880, was attended by lively children
reflecting the school slogan "Brimming with smiling faces." Afterthe lecture by Representative Hirai of JAMRA, a workshop called"Making postcards from handmade paper" was held. In spite of
the cloudy and very muggy weather, the children made summery,cool-looking original postcards featuring pictures of flowers andpaper fans (Forty one fourth graders attended the lesson).

Aiming to create environmentally friendly schools, Saga City
established a school-type Environment ISO system. All theelementary schools and junior high schools have been certified.
Wakakusu Elementary School has been carrying out
environmental education and group collection of garbage.
However, in the past, milk cartons were occasionally mixed with
waste papers. Taking this as a lesson learned, the right way torecycle milk cartons was conveyed, which made the lesson
meaningful (Forty nine third graders attended the lesson).

[Minami-Alps City Shiranehyakuta Elementary
School, Yamanashi Prefecture] October 6[Kaizuka City Chuo Elementary School, Osaka
Prefecture] December 22, 2015
An onsite lesson held at Kaizuka City Chuo Elementary School
attracted a large number of participants from four classes of fourth
graders. Typical of Osaka residents, many of them were lively andfriendly. They actively offered their thoughts and opinions during
the presentation and the question-and-answer session, showing
their positive attitude towards learning. In an activity involving
making postcards from handmade paper, they created postcards
featuring images and designs appropriate for the Christmas season(One hundred and fifty six fourth graders attended the lesson).

Learning about forestry management via DVD

Explaining paper pulp to make postcards from handmade paper

Onsite lesson at Shiranehyakuta Elementary School, facing
Mt. Fuji and Mt. Yatsugatake, in a quiet environment richwith nature. Children were surprised to learn that
Yamanashi Prefecture is the birthplace of milk carton
recycling. While making postcards from handmade paper,
they were amazed at the whiteness of pulp made from milk
cartons. While learning about the importance of recycling,
students mentioned that they should "rinse, open and dry"milk cartons at home like they do at school after lunch(Sixty fourth graders attended the lesson).

[Machida City Oyama Elementary School, Tokyo] July 28[Yokohama City Tsunashima Elementary School,
Kanagawa Prefecture] November 24

As part of the "Cool Summer School" held during summer
break, an onsite lesson was run at Oyama Elementary
School, which is located between Sagamihara City and theTama Hills. The children tried their hand at making
postcards out of handmade paper after learning about theimportance of resources and recycling of paper cartons. In
the workshop given by JAMRA Representative Hirai,
everyone actively answered questions, showing a highlevel of interest. (Thirteen students in fourth grade andabove attended the lesson)
Making postcards from handmade paper
Enjoying making postcards

8[Koshigaya City Obukurohigashi Elementary School,
Saitama Prefecture] June 18[Kitakyushu City Tenraiji Elementary School,
Fukuoka Prefecture] November 8

An eco Festival was held at Koshigaya City Obukurohigashi
Elementary School that attracted 19 organizations and 16 groups ofchildren. COMCEI and JAMRA worked with four groups. Children werevery interested to peel off the polyethylene film from carton package
and make postcards. In some of the classrooms, milk cartons used forschool meals, which had been opened by hand were being dried,
showed the high level of awareness regarding recycling (One hundredand forty seven children from all grades attended the lesson).

An onsite lesson was held at Tenraiji Elementary School,
which has an educational goal of nurturing strong
children with rich spirits and a willingness to learn
proactively. Three observers from Kitakyushu Prosperity
Enrichment Council, a public interest incorporated
foundation, observed the lesson. After a lecture using
slides and videos, the children made their own original
postcards out of handmade paper. At the panel/exhibition corner, they learned by touching actual pulp
and chips (Twenty one fifth graders attended the lesson).

Activity topics●Onsite lessons on milk carton recycling

Postcard making using handmade paper Experiencing ironing postcards

COMCEI staff answering children's questions

There was snow in November for the first time in 54 years
on this day. Cheerful, lively children who would not let thecold weather get them down, participated. Students had
earlier found it difficult to make postcards from handmade
paper in class, however, this time, they succeeded in
making their own original postcards. They practice"Rinse, open and dry" of school milk cartons. The school
has a high level of awareness of recycling (One hundredfrom three classes in fourth grade attended the lesson).

Taking a photograph with original postcards in their hands
Activity topics●Onsite lessons on milk carton recycling

9

Activity topics

Eco-Life Fair/Eco-Products 2016

Raising awareness regarding
importance of recycling. Participants
experienced with disassembling milk
cartons by hand and making paper.

"Learn and Play" with Milk Cartons Contest

COMCEI booth was busy everyday. We participated in one of thelargest environmental exhibitions inJapan.

[Eco-life Fair 2016] June 4 and 5[Eco-Products 2016] December 8 to 10

The Eco-life Fair is held every year in June Environmental Month - in Yoyogi Park in Shibuya,
Tokyo. The event is primarily hosted by the Ministryof the Environment. COMCEI has been participatingin this event, which celebrates its 27th anniversary
this year, from 2007, and this year was the 10th
presentation we have made.
We played trivia, and demonstrated creating
accessory pouches using used paper cartons andmaking postcards from handmade paper in thebooth. Unfortunately, the weather was unstable fortwo days but the fair was very lively and attracted
more visitors - 549 - than last year. In the workshop,
visitors enjoyed events such "Milk Packn's
Expedition" DVD, quizzes about paper carton
recycling, and disassembling of used milk cartons byhand. We believe many of the visitors were interested
in paper carton recycling.

"Eco-Products" is the largest environmental
exhibition in Japan and has been held every year
since 1999. 2016 marked its 18th anniversary.
COMCEI participated in this exhibition along with the
Milk Carton Recycle Mark Promotion Council.
A total of 167,093 visitors attended the exhibition,and 1,905 people visited the COMCEI booth andtook part in events. Various events were hosted in
the booth including an "Environmental panel rally"that explained the rules of paper carton recycling,educational materials such as "Story of Waste" were
distributed, and a workshop on "disassembling milk
cartons by hand" was held. In addition to the above,
visitors tried making postcards from handmade
paper, an activity co-hosted by JAMRA. Through thevarious exhibitions and activities, we had an
opportunity to deepen visitors’ understanding of
paper carton recycling and enhance theircooperation in this activity.

Ayaka Tajiri's work "Lookout of the
Rice Field" won the best prize.

Three thousand and eighty nine elementary school
children participated in the 16th "Learn and Play"with Milk Cartons Contest 2016. Among the many
great works, the following seven prize-winningcreations were selected through impartial judgment.
Congratulations.

≪Prize-winning creations≫◆Best Prize "Lookout of the Rice Field"
Ayaka Tajiri (3rd grader at Kakogawa City Kakogawa Elementary School)◆Excellence Prize "Thump-Thump! Milk Pottery"
Yuri Takada (6th grader at Narashino City Mimomi Elementary School)◆Excellence Prize "Milk Carton Toilet"
 itsumasa Yamazaki (5th grader at Hiratsuka City Fujimi Elementary School)
M◆Prize of National Primary/Junior High schools
Environment Teachers' Association Prize"Milk Carton Ball"Tadashi Matsuzawa (3rd grader at Kawasaki City Kasumigaseki Higashi
Elementary School)◆JAMRA Prize"Milk Carton Dress"
Mayu Nagamura (5th grader at Gifu City Gifu Elementary School)

The best prize was awarded to "Lookout of the Rice
Field", a work by Ayaka Tajiri, a third grader in Hyogo
Prefecture. Looking at a scarecrow in her
grandmother's rice field, she got the idea to makeone with water-proof durable milk cartons. By
selecting colors to make her work eye-catching andtaking wind into consideration so that it could play arole as a lookout of the rice field, she gave new life
to used milk cartons.
The awards ceremony marking the prize-winningcreations was held in the COMCEI booth at "EcoProducts 2016" on December 10. The diplomas,
shields and sub-prizes were handed out to award
winners by the Chairman of the Review Board, Mr.
Zeniya (Executive Director of Tokyo National
Museum), Executive COMCEI Chairman Mr. Aoyamaof the Executive Committee, and other review board
members.
The prize-winningcreations have beenposted on COMCEI’s"Milk Packn's
Expedition" website
targeting for children
audience.

◆Prize of Japan Dairy Industry Association"My Drum"
Hiroto Tajiri (1st grader at Kakogawa City Kakogawa Elementary School)◆COMCEI Prize" Milk Carton Planetarium"Shota Ito (3rd grader at Hiroshima City Yano Elementary School)

10

Activity topics●Eco-Life Fair/Eco-Products 2016

Inside the tent booth

Explanation by use of environmental panel rally

At the workshop

At the workshop

Ayaka Tajiri won the Best PrizeBest Prize"Lookout of the Rice Field"
Ayaka Tajiri

Awards ceremony held at "Eco-Products 2016" at the COMCEI booth

Activity topics●"Learn and Play" with Milk Cartons Contest

11Activity topics

Other activities

COMCEI and JAMRA have started
c o l l a b o r a t i o n o n p ro m o t i n grecycling at commercial facilities.

Overseas research[ C o m m e rc i a l f a c i l i t y " K a w a g u c h i C i t y A r i o
Kawaguchi] June 11
With the support of Kawaguchi City, we held a paper
carton recycling campaign event titled "Let's
experience recycling" at Ario Kawaguchi. We sawsome elementary school children who visited theevent teaching their parents how to disassemble apaper carton using methods they had learnt at
school. We felt that this will lead to the spreading of
knowledge about recycling.

Contents of recycling promotion- Viewing and listening DVD "Milk Packn's Expedition"- Experience "Disassembling empty milk cartons by hand"
" Making postcards from handmade paper (using
pulp from milk cartons)"- Panel The flow of "forestry management - wonder of pulp
- paper carton recycling"- E vent Exchanging six used (consumed) paper
cartons for a box of tissue paper
Disassembling milk cartons by hand[Commercial facility "Ario Hashimoto Sagamihara
City"] March 19[Commercial facility "Sendai City LaLa garden
Nagamachi] July 23 to 24

As part of "Operation Sagamihara Trash DE71" hosted
by Sagamihara City, we co-hosted the Eco Workshop
for the first time since 2013 at Ario Hashimoto. Despite
the rain, many families visited during the morning.
Sagamihara City's Garbage collection mascot
character squadron "Shigenjya Paper Pink" and"Lemon Chan" made an appearance and added to
the fun to conclude the event with excitement.

We co-hosted the fourth "Milk Carton Recycling
Promotion Campaign" hosted by LaLa garden
Nagamachi for two days. This year, with the supportof Sendai City, the collaboration between wastereduction campaign characters "Wakeru-kun family" andCOMCEI's "Milk Packn" came true. We conveyed how
wonderful raw material pulp for making paper cartonsis, as well as the importance of recycling.

Our visit to North America forresearch was a valuable opportunity
to examine various strategies[Visiting paper manufacturers and recycling
treatment facilities in North America]
For the fifth overseas research, we visited the resource
collection facilities in North America to investigate
the current status of forestry management in termsof securing materials for paper, observing the stateof manufacturing base paperboard, and checking
the recycling status of paper cartons.
Regarding forestry management, Weyerhaeuser
Company uses seeds they developed over a long
period of time through a series of selective breeding
processes, plants strong seedlings raised in good soil,
controls growth in the forest by thinning before
carrying out planned logging activities, and then plants
more trees. We learned that the company secures astable supply of timber by repeating this process.
Most of the logged timber is used for construction
materials. Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. makes
pulp from the parts of timber that cannot be used forconstruction, and makes paperboard from it. Afterthe paperboard is made, very large rolls, eachweighing 25 tons, is divited to smaller rolles and bothinner and outer surface of the paper are coated with
polyethylene to make base material for leakproof
paper cartons. We also confirmed that improvements
are made every year in terms of LCA. Food safety
requirements in Japan have become stricter every
year. We verified that eco-friendly base paper ismanufactured in response to such requirements.

In California, we visited SMaRT Station (private
garbage disposal facility) sponsored by the Carton
Council (American paper carton recycling promotion
organization).
In Japan, garbage is separated into several types
before collection. In America, garbage is collected
and then separated. In this facility, garbage isseparated into two types: (1) recycling paper(newspaper, packaging containers, books, packaging
paper), (2) bottles, plastic, aluminum containers(paper containers were added last year). Resources
collected from collection boxes in various areas ofCalifornia are separated by a machine and thenworkers manually separate the resources. Landfills
are the usual destination for garbage that cannot berecycled. Lots of time and effort goes into this work.
We thought the Japanese method of separating
before collection is more beneficial.

A sign in the forest indicating information such as the year it was planted

Sagamihara City garbage collection squadron Shigenjya "Lemon

Making postcards from handmade paper

Chan" spreading good cheer Making postcards from handmade paper
Tree nursery

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Activity topics●Other activities

Paper cartons after being separated from other garbage

Activity topics●Overseas research13