Activity topics"Plan 2015" Action Plan for Recycling of Paper Cartons for Beverages

Recycling Action Plan,"Plan 2015", toward Year2015

In April 2011, COMCEI established the "Plan 2015", anaction plan for recycling of paper cartons for beverages
toward 2015. This plan follows through on and expands
on "Plan 2010" that was established in 2007.
Plan 2010 was focused on "Improving the paper carton
collection rate", "Communicating environmentalc h a ra c te r i s t i c s o f p a p e r c a r to n s c o r re c t ly" a n d"Increasing the number of people who can think and act
to suppor t the environment" in order to create anenvironmentally-friendly society and raise peoples' ecoconsciousness. For the above purposes, COMCEI has
systematized its activities and set relevant priorities.
COMCEI had reviewed the Plan on an annual basis.
The key goals of Plan 2010 were essentially achieved
despite major economic fluctuations. For example,
COMCEI has obtained positive results in various
activities including providing paper carton collection
boxes to local communities and enhancing ecoconsciousness of school children through onsite
lessons.
We could not achieve the target collection rate of 50%
due to a low collecton rate of household paper cartons,
that were in the most important category. There were
two major reasons for that. One was the limited periodof various activities. It was too short to reflect theirachievements in the collection rate. The other was the
expansion of our activities. We basically achieved what
we had planned but were not necessarily successful in
involving other sectors and people.
While inheriting the existing concepts, Plan 2015 hasreviewed our activities in order to spread them widelyand effectively throughout society. In fiscal 2012, thesecond year of the Plan, we decided to review ouractivity organizations based on the roadmap createdduring the previous year.

COMCEI - Organizational Chart

GeneralAssembly

Administrative
Board

1.Planning and Steering
Committee
In the month of theplanned event, thePlanning and Steering
Co m m i tte e i s fo r m e dwith the Quar terly
Steering Committee andt h e M o n t h ly S te e r i n g
Committee.
① Q u a r te r ly S te e r i n g
Committee
Members: Administrationo ff i c e r s w h o w a n t t oparticipate, the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson andmembers of the Expert Committee.
Agenda: Selecting the topics to be discussed by the
Administrative Board, advising the Expert Committee
regarding the subjects they are to survey and deliberateon, and receiving reports from the Expert Committee
members, among others.
②Monthly Steering Committee
Members: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and membersof the Expert Committee
Agenda: Selecting the topics to be discussed andreported by the Quarterly Steering Committee, andadvising the Expert Committee regarding the subjects
they are to survey and deliberate on.
2.Expert Committee①General Affairs Committee - Concerning the roadmap
to achieve a 50% collection rate, this committee holds
surveys, hearings, verifications, produces reports,
oversees budget use, draws up the budget for the next
fiscal year, and conducts necessary revisions of bylaws
and regulations.
②Publicity Committee - Responsible for issuing theAnnual Repor t, editing the website and creating
educational tools to help increase the recycling rate.
③Event Committee - Engages in the planning ando p e ra t i o n s n e c e s s a r y to p a r t i c i p a te i n va r i o u senvironmental events as well as planning and operating
training sessions and onsite lessons held as part ofpaper carton recycling promotion activities.
④Local Organization Board - Works to build localorganizations to improve the collection rate in each
community.

Activity topics●"Plan 2015"

As par t of the 20th anniversar y
project, we held the Japan and South
Korea forum and visited Korea.

Approaches to utilize renewable energy,
and case study reports on such efforts wereintroduced in the joint meeting of government,
diverse organizations, and relevant businesses.

[Visit to Korea]
As part of COMCEI's 20th anniversary project, the Japanand Korea Milk Industr y Green Policy Information
Exchange Conference was held in Korea for four days
starting from April 11 with a Korean tour included in thes c h e d u l e. S i x te e n Ja p a n e s e m e m b e rs i n c l u d i n g
Chairperson Nakajima participated.
Upon arrival in Pusan, the members visited the "Greater
Pusan Resource Recycling Center" and Toshin Paper
Company, a wholesaler of used (consumed) paper, before
moving to Kyongju. Members visited the "Geochang Plant
of Seoul Milk Cooperative Association" on the second dayand "E-MART" on the third day where the "Japan and
Korea Milk Industry Green Policy Information Exchange
Conference" was held in the afternoon.
"Green Policy Information Exchange Conference" of 2012
was the third time for Japan and Korea to hold this forum.
This conference was held to help bring about low carbon
societies in both countries and to promote resource
recycling, in particular qualitative enhancement in paper
carton recycling. Speeches were made by Chairperson
Lee of the Korean Paper Carton Recycling Association,
Chairperson Nakajima of COMCEI, Chairperson Pak of the
Korean Dairy Industries Association and Ms. Hirai,
representative of JAMRA. Then three repor ts were
presented respectively from Japan and Korea followed bya special lecture by Mr. Ishikawa, representative of Gomi
Japan titled "Concept of Anti Excess Packing in Shopping".
A lively exchange of opinions took place in the question
and answer session and at the convivial party. The
conference ended successfully. This event's forum wasalso very successful.

[Friendly Environment Loop Forum]
The 6th "Friendly Environment Loop Forum" sponsored by
JAMRA and supported by COMCEI was held on October
31 at the Shinjuku Municipal Industrial Hall (BIZ Shinjuku)
under the theme of "Possible Approaches for Utilization ofrenewable energy". This forum was attended by 68
representatives from government agencies, variousorganizations, and relevant businesses.
After opening speeches by Ms. Hirai, representative of
JAMRA, and Chairperson Nakajima of COMCEI, Vice
Director Hiroki Kudo of the Institute of Energy Economics,
Japan, and Ms. Mika Oobayashi of the Japan renewable
Energy Foundation made comments on the policy andinstitutional issues related to diffusion of renewable energy
and the status of use of natural energy in the world andfuture prospects.
Four case study reports were presented. They were "Green
power certificate system" by Japan Natural Energy Co.,
Ltd., "Biomass utilization promotion plan" by theEnvironmental Policy Bureau of Kyoto Prefecture, "Use of
biomass at paper manufacturing plant" by Hokuetsu Kishu
Paper Co., Ltd., and "Unused energy-based green power
generation by use of aluminum laminated paper cartons"
by Hokuriku Green Energy Conference. These reports
were very meaningful in terms of introducing the uniqueapproaches taken from different standpoints and providing
information and knowledge about the future of energy.

Staff members of the Korean secretariat and Japanese delegation

Organizer: Speech by Ms. Hirai, representative of JAMRA

Expert Committee
Planning andSteering
Committee

Publicity Committee
Event Committee
General Affairs Committee
Local Organization Board

2

Visit to Korea/Friendly Environment Loop Forum

Local Organization
Board members

Activity topics●Visit to Korea/Friendly Environment Loop Forum3

Activity topics

Regional conference for promotion of carton recycling

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

The "Regional conference for promotion of carton recycling"is held every year and jointly hosted by COMCEI and
JAMRA. Its objective is to increase the rate of paper carton
recycling by understanding the current status and problems
in each local community. The 2012 conference was held in
two areas in Tokyo to focus our efforts on the urban area
where collection volumes tend to be small.
A diverse range of members including representatives fromthe local governments, relevant manufacturers, and citizens
groups attended both conferences to report their activities
and presentations on relevant issues. The conferenceh e l p e d d e e p e n mu t u a l u n d e rs ta n d i n g a m o n g t h eparticipants, encouraged them to exchange information, andconfirmed their decision to further promote paper carton
recycling.

Regional conference for promotion of
carton recycling in eastern Tokyo◆Date held
◆Participants

March 8, 2012
Forty participants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries, the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry, local governments, citizens groups, researchfirms, organizations relevant to used paper, business
operators, etc.

[Major reports and presentations on relevant issues]●COMCEI noted that the key factor in achieving thepaper carton collection rate of 50% target in "Plan2015" is how we can increase the collection rate ofused (consumed) paper cartons.
●The person in charge at the Ministry of Economy, Tradeand Industr y said they would like to make thecategorization criteria applicable to household usedpaper (such as "Identification mark" and "separation ofmagazines and miscellaneous recyclable papers)
easier to understand.
●Attendees from the local governments and paper
recyclers reported that the volume of paper cartonsdisposed of is small in this area possibly because
elderly and single citizens, who make up a large
proportion of the population here, do not buy many
paper-packed products. They said they are going toincrease the collection volume by promoting citizens'awareness that paper cartons are in fact resources.

●An attendee from a dairy product manufacturer reported
their plan to communicate information concerning paper
cartons and the importance of recycling them directly to
consumers through various events including a class tomake postcards from handmade paper. He also said his
company is planning to bring employees to such events
to enhance their awareness of recycling within thecompany. A participant reported a case in Kanagawa
Prefecture where a 100% collection rate of paper milk
cartons served with school lunches is being targeted.
●According to a participant from a used paper-relatedorganization, the overall used paper collection rate of
79% in Japan is rather high from a global perspective,
but only 63% are used domestically and the balance isexported. He stressed the importance of consumers'
cooperation in the collection process since increasing
the collection rate increases the rate of domestic use ofused paper.
●A participant from a research firm pointed out thenecessity of constructing a paper carton collection
system that can cope with various obstacles in this areasuch as paper cartons mixing with miscellaneous
recyclable papers, low birthrate and longevity, and a
relatively large ratio of single people.
●A participant said that incentives should be offered tomotivate people to enhance the paper carton collection
rate. After hearing these ideas, we recognized thenecessity of rebuilding the movement by also taking
into consideration the current overall status of usedpaper.
●One of our tasks now is to communicate the meaning
separating paper cartons for collection to consumers. At
the same time, it was made clear during the conference
that ties among co-ops, mass merchandise outlets,
local governments and business operators must be
further tightened in order to promote the movement.

Activity topics●Regional conference for promotion of carton recycling◆Date held
◆Participants

November 25, 2012
Thirty eight participants from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of the Environment,
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, local
g o ve r n m e n t s , c i t i z e n s g r o u p s , r e s e a r c h f i r m s ,organizations relevant to used paper, business operators,
etc.

[Major reports and presentations on relevant issues]●The participant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries requested setting a collection rate goal
greater than 50%, the participant from the Ministry of
the Environment presented their concept for improving
consumers' understanding of paper carton recycling,
and the participant from the Ministry of Economy, Tradeand Industry noted they will make further efforts toimprove the quality and stabilize exporting of usedpaper.
●One participant reported that the total volume of paper
cartons collected at 24,700 locations in Ota Ward will
exceed the planned level for 2015. Ota Ward, according
to him, is also positively promoting environmental
education at primary schools.
●Regarding group collection practiced by residents'
associations in Nakano Ward, one participant reported
that the collection volume of paper cartons as anindependent item is small because in many cases they
are mixed in with magazines and other miscellaneous
recyclable papers due to paper recyclers' line ofbusiness.
●According to COMCEI's survey, Tama City, which
employs the base collection system, has successfullyincreased the number of voluntary installations of paper
carton collection boxes by convenience stores etc. byallotting different points and differentiating the collection
charge according to the efforts put into for waste
reduction and recycling.

●The research firm reported that consumers in somecommunity replied in the questionnaire that paper
cartons are being collected mixed in with other wastes.
This contradicts the notice on local government
websites that "Paper cartons are collected separately".
●A citizen of Shibuya Ward mentioned that he thought
the collection rate of paper cartons was greater than
50%. Upon hearing that this is not the case, he said hewill work harder to raise consumers' awareness of theimportance of collecting paper cartons.
●Par ticipants from the relevant organizations andrecycled paper manufacturers reported that collected
paper car tons are, in some cases, mixed in withmagazines and exported. They also stressed theimportance of campaigns to educate children.
●A participant from a used paper-related organization
said we must work with more painstaking vigor tocollect individual paper cartons.
●COMCEI reported that it is selecting business facilities
to collaborate to promote paper carton recycling inorder to build local organizations, and also reported thatit has launched new activities including distributing amail magazine. COMCEI promised to put all its efforts
into achieving the 50% paper carton collection rate set
for 2015.

Locations of Local Conference●Locations of Local Conference in 2012

●Hokkaido●Locations of Local Conference held in the past

●Aomori●IwateYamagata● ●Miyagi
Niigata●●Fukushima

Ishikawa●
Gunma●●Ibaragi●
NaganoFukui●
Saitama●●TokyoShimane●●Gifu
Kanagawa● ●Chiba
Kyoto Shiga ●Aichi ●Shizuoka
Okayama● Hyogo● ●●●MieHiroshima●
Osaka●
Fukuoka●Saga●●Ehime●Oita●Tokushima●Kochi●Kumamoto●Okinawa

Managing Director Watanabe delivering his speech4

Regional conference for promotion of
carton recycling in northern Tokyo

The Local Conference

Activity topics●Regional conference for promotion of carton recycling5

Activity topics

Discussion Meeting to Promote Recycling

An important forum toexchange views on the current
status and tasks of recycling
among relevant organizations.

6

Paper Carton Recycling ForumAn expanded version of the discussion
meeting. A meaningful meeting inwhich citizens were invited for the firsttime to present their views.

[25th Discussion Meeting to Promote Recycling of Paper
Cartons for Beverages] February 2
The discussion meeting was held at Nugyo Kaikan in
Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, with 57 people in attendance fromthe relevant organizations including government agencies,
local gover nments, citizens groups, dair y productmanufacturers, paper carton manufacturers, distributors,
used-paper related organizations and the host.
Following the opening message presented by COMCEIChairperson Nakajima, COMCEI reported its achievements
in "Plan 2010" and the challenges it faced when
implementing the plan. COMCEI then reported how it ispromoting "Plan 2015". Then, the participant from the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries expressed
their hope to COMCEI that included in the goal ofachieving a collection rate of 50% or above, achieving theweight savings for 500 ml paper cartons that ended
unsuccessfully in the previous attempt, and promoting
activities targeted at collecting used paper cartons fromhouseholds and business facilities where the collection
rate still remains low. The attendee from the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry reported on the status of therevision of the "Containers and Packaging Recycling Law"
(hereafter referred to as the "Recycling Law"), and asked
attendees to present their requests. The attendee from the
Ministry of the Environment said the key to success in
improving the paper carton collection rate is to enhanceusers' awareness, and they will be more than willing to do
anything they can to achieve this.
Ms. Hirai, representative of JAMRA, stressed theimportance of developing activities to enhance collection
rates in urban areas where collection volumes arestagnant. In addition, she said it is important to persuade
local governments to practice strict separate collection of
paper cartons. In that sense, she continued, a discussion
meeting such as this is very meaningful.
The representative from the local government presented arange of problems including a reduction in paper carton
collection volumes due to reduced motivation amongintermediate processing companies resulting from adecline in transaction prices, greater volumes of paper
cartons mixed in with magazines and miscellaneous
recyclable papers, and the difficulty of finding storage
locations for paper milk cartons used for school lunches
after they have been selected and collected by paper
collection traders.
The distributors requested a timely transmission of
information since it is important for them to know and share
information with other companies on how they are working
on paper car ton recycling, what problems they areexperiencing in terms of promoting recycling, and new
proposals they have as well as their successes and failures.
" S i n c e p a p e r c a r to n s a re a p re c i o u s re s o u rc e,
communication regarding the correct methods of disposingof and collecting them separately must continue to bepromoted to citizens" was another key opinion expressedby an attendee. To that end, he said, it is important tointroduce citizens to paper carton recycling activities andencourage them to continue recycling.
Before the meeting closed, a base paper (raw paper)
manufacturer reported on how they are working to reduce
the weight of paper cartons and, concerning this, theJapan Dairy Industry Association reported on the current
status of this matter from various Japanese companies.

[1st Citizens, Local Governments and Business Operators
Forum on Paper Carton Recycling] August 24
The 1st Paper Carton Recycling Forum was held at"Fujisan Messe" in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture. This was
an expanded version of the Discussion Meeting with therecycled paper manufacturers that has been held every
year. The forum was attended by 64 people including
citizens, local government representatives, and business
operators.
Ms. Hirai, representative of JAMRA, delivered the keynote
speech titled "For Promotion of Paper Carton Recycling".
She noted in the speech that continuation of "Workshop on
milk carton recycling" and "Onsite lessons" are effective inincreasing the collection rate and enhancing consumers'
environmental awareness. She said that these activities
are adopted as part of the enlightenment program of thePaper Carton Resource Recycling Association of Korea,
and worked as a bridge between the Japanese and Korean
dairy processing industries. Ms. Hirai suggested that we
carry out follow-up at the stores that dominate 60% of thecollection rate. Doing so will be effective in promoting
purchasing of recycled products and also provide business
operators with the chance to hear consumers' opinions. In
addition, she said, the information obtained from such
efforts will be helpful as a tool in developing future regional
strategies.
Later, various interesting items of information relevant topaper carton recycling were presented, attracting theattention of the participants. Such subjects included therevision of the Recycling Law and the survey conducted on
the used paper recyclers and raw material wholesalers.
Then, participants reported how they are working on paper

carton recycling from their respective standpoint. The local
government reported the following two case examples.
They have succeeded in raising the environmental
consciousness of consumers by introducing andre c o m m e n d i n g re t a i l s to re s t h a t a re p ro m o t i n genvironment-friendly movement on their website. They
promote positive use of recycled products by establishing
the recycled products certification system. The dairy
product manufacturer reported how they are practicing apaper pack recycle campaign internally. The recycled paper
manufacturer introduced attempts such as producing
original toilet paper in collaboration with welfare work
places, exchanging paper cartons and toilet papers at local
events, and making postcards from handmade paper.
In the panel discussion held for the first time in the forum,
various views were expressed by representatives ofcitizens, local governments, and business operators on
how to increase the paper carton collection volume andother subjects. It was a valuable chance for us to hearcitizens' opinions. Based on the information and opinions
obtained through the conference, the Committee will thinkof ways to share and provide the information on paper
carton recycling.

Chairperson Nakajima delivering his speech

Meeting participants exchanging views

Meeting place "Fujisan Messe"

Panel discussion provided us with valuable opinions

Activity topics●Discussion meeting to promote recycling

Activity topics●Paper Carton Recycling Forum7

Activity topics

Workshop on Milk Carton Recycling

An enjoyable wor kshop
where people learn about thecurrent status of recycling andexperience it first hand.

[Sagamihara City] December 10, 2011 - August 2, 2012
In Sagamihara City, we held a "Hands-On Recycling Class
for Parents and Children" consisting of two parts:"Workshop on Milk Carton Recycling" as was held lastyear, and "Experiencing Garbage Collection" hosted by
the Environmental and Economic Bureau of the city. Thirty
two people in 13 pairs participated in the event in theextreme heat of August. The "Paper-making Program" wasenjoyed by children and parents alike.
[Saitama City – Ichishin Wing School] April 21
This first workshop offered by COMCEI in Saitama City
was attended by 13 participants including eight students,
their parents, and five teachers of Ichishin Wing School.
After viewing the "Milk Packn's Expedition" DVD, they tried
their hand at disassembling milk cartons by hand. All thestudents did it well because many of them had alreadytried it at school.
[Uny Co., Ltd.] July 14
Uny Co., Ltd. plans to implement a "Workshop on Paper
making" at the store of Uny in the form of onsite lessons
as a countermeasure against falling collection volumes.
The workshop consisted of two parts: a "Workshop on
Paper-making" and a "Discussion Meeting on Paper
Carton Recycling". Both were attended by 20 people fromthe Environmental Bureau of Nagoya City, Uny, andrelated organizations. This event was highly successful.

Speech of the Resource Recycling Section Chief of Sagamihara City (Sagamihara City)

8

Activity topics●Workshop on Milk Carton Recycling

Onsite Lessons on Milk Carton Recycling[Otsuki City] July 14
This workshop was held jointly by the Volunteer Chamberof Otsuki City. Forty eight people who usually carry out
volunteer activities such as helping elderly people
participated in this event. Otsuki City is the birthplace ofthe milk carton recycling movement in Japan. COMCEI
described how milk carton recycling is still actively carriedout here. Then, participants enjoyed the lectures and thepaper-making program.

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

[Nishi Tokyo City] July 24
Forty six primary school children, their parents, and 10
other people participated in the workshop, the first event of
the "Summer Vacation Research in 2012" environmental
workshop hosted by Nishi Tokyo City. This was the fourthworkshop held in this city. We found that children had adeep interest in environmental issues when we saw themraise their hands and eagerly ask questions.

In 2012, in collaboration with JAMRA, COMCEI held
"Onsite Lessons on Milk Carton Recycling" at primaryschools across the country.

[Shinagawa Ward] August 10
This workshop was held as part of the environmental
workshop hosted by Shinagawa Ward. Thirty nine people
in 17 pairs consisting of mainly primary school children
and their parents participated in this workshop. A crew of a
local cable TV station took pictures of the event. Aftermaking postcards from handmade paper, a child wasobserved asking his parent "Who shall I send it to?".
[Nakano Ward] August 19
This workshop was held as an ecological course in "Let's
start from zero! Eco-project 2012" promoted by Nakano
Ward. Twenty nine people consisting of 15 primary school
children and 14 parents participated in this event in the hotsun. Young children also enjoyed making postcards fromhandmade paper with help from their parents.

Trying hard to make postcards from handmade paper (Nishi Tokyo City)[Hiroshima City Niho Primary School, Hiroshima
Prefecture] January 27
The event, the third of its kind, was attended by 102 fourth
graders from three classes and seven pupils from KaoriClass at Niho Primary School. The children at this school
always greet us in a cheerful manner and take the initiative
to help us. They were interested in recycling issues
because recycling of milk cartons used for school lunches
is already practiced. We were happy to see that somechildren made postcards for their classmates who could
not attend the event on the day.
[Nisshin City Higashi Primary School, Aichi Prefecture]
October 10
The workshop at Higashi Primary School, which marked
its 100th anniversary in 2012, was held for 60 fourth
graders as part of their environmental education. In thelecture course, we gave a quiz to the students and asked
five questions. We think the process of making postcards
from handmade paper helped them understand that paper
cartons are valuable as a high-quality resource. It wasquite touching when they cheerfully said, "Thank you!" tous when we gathered to take a commemorative photo withof them holding their handmade postcards.

We received a letter of thanks for the onsite lessons (Nisshin City Higashi Primary School)[Goudo Cho Goudo Primary School, Gifu Prefecture]
October 11
Goudo Primary School, located in the northwest part of the
Nobi Plain, has a 139-year history. The educational goal ofthis school, "Accomplish your aim", guides the children's
study and sports events. Recycling and ecologicalactivities are also promoted at this school. A hundred and
one fourth graders from three classes made 102 postcards
from handmade paper (a teacher made one postcard for a
student who was absent). "Publicity Goudo" covered thestory on the event.
[Hiroshima City Oomachi Primary School, Hiroshima
Prefecture] November 6
The onsite lessons had the greatest number of attendees
ever comprising 169 fourth graders from five classes. The
number of our staff members involved was also large - 17
in all. Due to the larger number of participating children, as
many as 10 paper-making stands were set up in the gym
to enable participants to make postcards from handmade
paper. We divided the children into two groups and while
one group was making paper, the other group played agame prepared by the PTA members with their parents. It
was a wonderful day full of smiling faces.
[Motegi Cho Motegi Primary School, Tochigi Prefecture]
November 13
Motegi Primary School is a historic school established in
1873. The building has warmth of the wood. The lesson
was held in the gym for 40 first graders from two classes.
They made original postcards from handmade paper. The
children as well as their parents enjoyed the event.
Recycling of milk cartons was not practiced at Motegi
Primary School then but the school promised to look into
the feasibility of recycling on this occasion. All staff
members look forward to the outcome.

Onsite lessons (Motegi Cho Motegi Primary School)

Activity topics●Onsite Lessons on Milk Carton Recycling

9

Activity topics

Eco-Life Fair/Eco-Products 2012

"Learn and Play" with Milk Cartons Contest

Raising awareness regarding
impor tance of recycling.
Participants disassembled milk
cartons by hand and made paper.

COMCEI's booth was thriving
every day. We par ticipated in
one of the largest environmental
exhibitions in Japan.

[Eco-Life Fair 2012] June 2 and 3"Eco-Life Fair 2012" hosted by the Ministry of Environment
held in the Environmental Month of June in Yoyogi Park.
Approximately 66,000 visitors attended, slightly fewer thanlast year. This was the sixth time COMCEI participated inthis event jointly with the Recycling Association.
We showed the "Milk Packn's Expedition" DVD in theworkshop hall and held a lesson on disassembling milk
cartons in the morning and afternoon on both days. At ourbooth, we explained about "Forest management - Flow ofrecycling of paper cartons" using panels. A "Craft Corner"
where people could make various items using paper
cartons was also installed in our booth. Foreign children
and their parents also enjoyed the craft corner thanks tothe staff’s gesture to explain the procedure.

[Eco-Products 2012] December 13 to 15
COMCEI has participated for nine consecutive years,
jointly with “the promotion council of Milk carton Recycled
products mark”, in "Eco-Products 2012", which is one of
the largest environmental exhibitions in Japan, held at
Tokyo Big Site in December every year.
The number of visitors was 178,501, which was slightly
fewer than last year. We showed the "Milk Packn's
Expedition" DVD and ran a workshop for visitors to
disassemble milk cartons by hand in COMCEI's booth.
The booth also explained "Forest management - Flow ofrecycling of paper cartons", and "Paper carton trees"
donated by dairy product manufacturers across the country
decorated the booth walls.
With the support from JAMRA, COMCEI's booth held ourusual "Experience of making postcards from handmade
paper" event and exhibited the prize-winning creations of"Learn and Play" with Milk Cartons Contest. The booth
was lively every day.

Best Prize went to "Cheer up
Japan! with Milk Cartons" by
Takeru Kuboya.

Approximately 3,292 primary school children with and theirworks creations participated in the 12th "Learn and Play"with Milk Carton Contest 2012. Among the many
impressive creations, the following seven prize-winningcreations were selected through impartial examination.
Congratulations.

The Grand Prix went to "Cheer up Japan! with Milk
Cartons" by 4th grader Takeru Kuboya. He came up withhis dynamic idea after seeing playthings related to soccer
games held at the London Olympics. Kuboya won the Best
Prize this year after winning the Prize of Excellence in"Learn and Play" with Milk Cartons Contest in 2011.
The awards ceremony of the prize-winning creations washeld in COMCEI's booth if "Eco-Products 2012". The
diplomas, shields and sub-prizes were handed out to theaward winners by the Chairperson of the Review Board,
Mr. Zeniya (Executive Director of Tokyo National
Museum), Executive Committee Chair person, Mr.
Nakajima (Chairperson of COMCEI), and other review
board members.
The prize-winning creations are introduced in COMCEI's
website for children "Milk Packn's Expedition".

Best prize "Cheer up Japan! with Milk Cartons"
Takeru Kuboya≪Prize-winning creations≫◆Best prize "Cheer up Japan! with Milk Cartons"
Takeru Kuboya (4th grader, Tsukuba City Kurihara Primary School)◆Prize for excellence "Milk Carton - Gundam"
Sinnosuke Jogo (3rd grader, Kitakyushu City Akasaki Primary School)◆Prize for excellence "Eco-blind"
Ibuki Yoshida (6th grader, Iwakuni City Kuina Primary School)◆Prize of National Primary/Junior High schools Environment
Teachers' Association "Sandals"
Saki Ueda (1st grader, Yokohama City Mitsukyo Primary School)
Dietary education and recycling information at workshop

At the workshop

The Best Prize winner Takeru Kuboya◆Prize of JAMRA"2012 London - Be an effort-oriented genius"
Kota Maeda (6th grader, Sakura City Nishishizu Primary School)◆Prize from COMCEI "Kishu Thread Ball"
Marina Hata (5th grader, Wakayama City Mita Primary School)◆Prize of Japan Dairy Industry Association "Summer in the Highlands"
Naho Suzuki (6th grader, Atsugi City Morino Sato Primary School)

Awards ceremony held in Eco-Products 2012

Craft Corner

10

Activity topics●Eco-Life Fair/Eco-Products 2012

"Paper carton trees" donated by diary product manufacturers across the country

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

11Activity topics

Publications of COMCEIOther Activities

COMCEI provides DVDs and leafletsthat explain characteristics of paper
cartons and how they are recycled in aneasy-to-understand manner.

C O M C E I p u bl i s h e d va r i o u spublications to help people thinkof the global environment throughrecycling.

The Committee suppor ts
e nv i ro n m e n t a l a c t i v i t i e s o f
depar tment stores and massmerchandise stores.

DVD "Milk Packn's Expedition"
COMCEI has prepared a detailed DVD version of thechildren-oriented website "Milk Packn's Expedition". Thisis an educational tool that helps them think about theenvironment and learn the importance of initiating theirown activities. We will send it free of charge to the schools
and organizations that applied.

Book "Paper Carton Manifesto"
This book details characteristics of paper cartons andrecycling activities in order to submit recommendations forthe future of our planet while enhancing consciousness
about the meaning of recycling.
The writers include Mr. Inose, president of ECOIPS, Ms.
Hirai, representative of JAMRA, and seven members of
COMCEI, among others.

[Collaboration with mass merchandise store "Kasumi"]
On October 14 at the "Hinuma Environmental Festival"
held in Ibaragi Cho, Ibaragi Prefecture, and on October 21
at the "Ushiku Future Eco-Festa" in Ushiku City, COMCEI
opened a handicraft class using paper cartons in thebooth run by Kasumi, a supermarket chain operating local
stores.

"Real Story of Paper Carton Recycling"
This leaflet contains answers to the frequently asked
questions we encounter in the course of promoting
activities to improve the recycling rate of paper cartons.
Using many illustrations it also clearly and simply explainsthat paper cartons are very environmentally-friendly
products and they must be collected separately from otherpaper products to utilize this resource effectively.

"Milk Carton Recycling - Nationwide Collection of 20
Cases" 3rd volume
Currently, three methods have been established to collectpaper cartons. These are: store collection, municipality
collection, and voluntary group collection. To make strict
separate collection a success, education of the local
community and use of devices unique to individual
communities are necessary. This case book introduces
actual recycling activities carried out by citizen's groups,
local governments and various business sectors
throughout Japan to assist readers when they are
confronted with problems.

[Collaboration with "Mitsukoshi Isetan" department store]
COMCEI and JAMRA participated in the "Let's create
original Christmas cards from milk cartons!" workshop in
the Ginza Ecology Exhibition 2012 held in Ginza
Mitsukoshi on November 17 and 18. The experience ofmaking postcards from handmade paper was successful
in making visitors feel the quality of recycled paper
cartons.

Transmission of latest
information via WEB[COMCEI's website]
On the website run by COMCEI, you can browse its latest
activities including "Regional conference for promotion of
carton recycling", "Workshop on Milk Carton Recycling"and "Onsite Classrooms" at primary schools. In addition,
the Annual Report, the mid-term action plan "Plan 2015",
and a collection of members' recycling case studies andactivities are updated on a timely basis. The Committee
prepares interesting content called "Milk Packn's
Expedition" for elementary school students so that they
can learn the importance of recycling and environmental
conservation in an enjoyable manner.

COMCEI's website
http://www.yokankyo.jp
Website of Milk Packn's Expedition
http://www.packun.jp
On the website created for cell phone users, you can view
the animation of "How to Open a Paper Carton".

For cell phones
http://www.yokankyo.jp/mobile/

Booth of Kasumi in "Hinuma Environmental Festival"

COMCEI's website

DVD "Milk Packn's Expedition"

12

Activity topics●Publications of COMCEI"Real Story of Paper Carton Recycling"

Book "Paper Carton Manifesto"
Nihon Hyouron Sha

3rd volume "Nationwide Collectionof 20 Cases"

Workshop on "Making postcards from handmade paper"in Ginza Mitsukoshi

Website of Milk Packn's Expedition

Activity topics●Other Activities13