PWMI NewsletterNO

40 2011.5

Plastic Waste Management InstituteJAPAN

Plastic Products,Plastic Waste andResource Recovery[2009]
Background information and notes on the publication of the Flowchart of
Plastic Products, Plastic Waste and Resource Recovery (2009)
Japan’s economy contracted considerably in 2009
due to the effects of the “Lehman Shock” in
September of the previous year. Looking at economici n d i c a t o r s , J a p a n ’s G D P f e l l b y 5 . 2 % a n d i t s
industrial production by 21.9% signaling a dramatic
decline in the economy compared with the previous
year.
The results of our 2009 survey deeply reflect theeffects of this recession: “resin production” and“domestic plastic products consumption” dropped
sharply by 17% and 23%, respectively, and “total
plastic waste discharge” decreased by 9%.
At the same time, exports of plastic waste as adestination of mechanical recycling have held steadyat about 1,500 thousand tons since 2007, a figure that
represents more than 70% of all mechanical recycling
and that reflects the strong growth in China and in
Asia overall.

The Plastic Waste Management Institute has beenrevising its system for making estimations to improve
the accuracy of this flowchart. With the revision ofJapan’s Home Appliance Recycling Law, “LCD andplasma TVs” and “clothes dryers” became targets ofrecycling in April 2009, and this year, we added“clothes dryers” to our estimation system to reflect
this revision. We have included “LCD and plasmaTVs” in our estimation system since the 2004 versionof this flowchart considering the big effect that theseproducts have on plastic waste.
The Plastic Waste Management Institute would
like to extend its deep appreciation to the Ministry of
the Environment (MOE), Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI), and various local
governments and concerned organizations forproviding valuable data and helpful advice during thecourse of this survey.

2009 Highlights
1. “Total plastic waste discharge” has been at about 10,000 thousand tons since 2000, but decreased to
9,120 thousand tons in 2009.
2. At 8,430 thousand tons, “domestic plastic products consumption” dropped considerably falling below
the amount of “total plastic waste discharge.” This is because products placed on the market andstocked in the past came to be discharged as plastic waste in 2009.
3. The ratios of mechanical recycling, feedstock recycling *1, and energy recovery *2 all increased, and theeffective plastic utilization rate increased by 3% over the previous year to 79%.

“Domestic plastic products consumption” in 2009
decreased significantly to 8,430 thousand tons(-2,470 thousand tons relative to the previous year;-23%), while “resin production” also fell noticeably
to 11,210 thousand tons (-2,240 thousand tons;-17%).
“Total plastic waste discharge” also decreased to
9,120 thousand tons (-860 thousand tons; -9%), but
this rate of decrease was small compared to that of“resin production” and “domestic plastic products
consumption.” The reason for this is that, excluding
plastic consumed and discharged in 2009, plastic
products placed on the market and stocked in the pastcame to be discharged in that year.
Breaking down plastic waste discharge for 2009,
we have domestic (general) plastic waste at 4,440
thousand tons (-580 thousand tons; -12%) andindustrial plastic waste at 4,680 thousand tons (-280
thousand tons; -5%), which indicates a large drop in
domestic plastic waste. This is because plastic
discharged as domestic plastic waste is often used forshort-term applications (packages, containers, etc.),
which is easily affected by changes in the
consumption of plastic products.
Turning to methods of disposal and recovery, thetotal amount of plastic waste dropped by 860
thousand tons from 9,980 to 9,120 thousand tons.

Here, the amount of plastic waste used formechanical recycling and energy recovery dropped
to 2,000 thousand tons (-130 thousand tons; -6%) and
4,860 thousand tons (-330 thousand tons; -6%),
respectively. On the other hand, the amount forfeedstock recycling increased to 320 thousand tons(+70 thousand tons; +28%) thanks to increased useof plastic waste as fuel for blast furnaces, cokefurnaces, and gasification.
The effective utilization rate of plastic waste
increased overall by 3% to 79% with mechanicalrecycling, feedstock recycling, and energy recovery
contributing 22%, 4%, and 54%, respectively.
Incineration without power generation or heatutilization facility and landfilling decreased to 1,070
thousand tons (-110 thousand tons; -9%) and 880
thousand tons (-340 thousand tons; -28%),
respectively, indicating a big drop in landfilling.
Exports of plastic waste as a destination of
mechanical recycling decreased slightly to 1490
thousand tons (-30 thousand tons; -2%), marking thethird straight year that results have held steady.
*1 feedstock recycling = blast/coke furnaces + gasification +liquefaction*2 energy recovery = densified-refuse derived fuel + incineration
with power generation + incineration with heat utilization facility

Explanation of flowchart items(1) Resin production, resin processing, andmarketing of products
1-1 Resin production
This figure was determined on the basis ofchemical-industry statistics from the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

・Resin export and import figures are based on
trade statistics from the Ministry of Finance.
・Figures for liquid resin, synthetic fiber, etc. thatfall outside plastic waste discharge are based on
chemical-industry statistics from the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry.
・Figures for plastic product export and import are
based on trade statistics from the Ministry of
Finance.
・Figure for processing waste considers discharged
waste from the processing step that is not turned
into products.

1-2 Reclaimed products
For convenience sake, the figure used here as input
is that of mechanical recycling from the previous
year taking figures for export and import of plastic
waste into account (Ministry of Finance, trade
statistics).

(2) Discharge

1-3 Domestic plastic products consumption
・(Domestic plastic products consumption) =(Resin production) - (Resin export) + (Resin
import) - (Liquid resin, etc.) - (Resin processing
waste) + (Reclaimed products) - (Product export)+ (Product import)

2-1 Industrial waste and domestic waste
・Industrial waste is waste generated by businessactivities as defined by the Waste Disposal andPublic Cleansing Law, and includes ashes, sludge,
waste oil, waste acid, waste alkali, and waste
plastic. Its disposal is generally the responsibility2

of the party that generates the waste. Domestic
waste is waste other than industrial waste and its
disposal is mainly handled by local governments.
2-2 Post-use products discharge
・This figure is determind by an estimation systemdeveloped by PWMI based on usage quantities bydemand-generating fields and by resin type (usage
quantities have been calculated annually from1976) and on product lifetimes by demandgenerating fields (using a PWMI discharge modelfor the last 60 years)
・Considering that the export/import of new andused automobiles affects the amount of plastic
waste in Japan, corrections are made to theamounts of reclaimed plastic products and plastic
waste discharge related to the transport industry.
From 2004, corrections have also been made to theamount of reclaimed plastic products in Japan
based on export/import amounts of four types ofhome appliances (televisions, refrigerators, airconditioners, and washing machines).
・Discharge ratios for domestic waste and industrial waste have been estimated using a PWMI
discharge model for demand-generating fields.
2-3 Production and processing waste discharge
・Amount of production waste is not included inamount of resin production, and amountof processin g waste is extrapolated from the results of questionnaires.
2-4 Total plastic waste discharge
・This figure is the sum total of post-use products
discharge and production and processing waste
discharge.
2-5 Breakdown of total plastic waste discharge by
resin type・These breakdown figures were estimated fromamounts for post-use products discharge,
production and processing waste discharge,
breakdown of resin production, etc.
(3) Disposal and recovery
3-1 Mechanical recycling
・All mechanical recycling figures and breakdowns are extrapolated from the results of questionnaires sent to recycling companies.
・“Recycled material” indicates pellets, flakes,
fluff, blocks, and ingots, while “recycled products”
refer to film sheets, stakes, pipes, etc.
・The export figure under “destination of recyclinguse” for mechanical recycling is based on “scrap
plastic” statistics from Ministry of Finance trade

figures.
3-2 Densified-refuse derived fuel, liquefaction,
gasification, blast furnace raw material
・Figures for liquefaction, gasification, blast
furnace raw materials, and coke-oven chemicalmaterials approved as product recycling proceduresby the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law
have been determined on the basis of bids
announced by the Japan Containers and Packaging
Recycling Association and results of questionnaires.
・The figure for densified-refuse derived fuelincludes energy recovery as cement kiln fuel andpower-generation.
3-3 Disposal and recovery of domestic waste
・Incineration/landfilling ratio
This ratio is determined on the basis of past
surveys conducted by PWMI.
・Incineration with power generation / incineration
with heat utilization“Incineration with power generation” means
incineration processing by an incinerator equippedwith power-generation facilities and “incineration
with heat utilization” means incineration processing by an incinerator that, while not equippedwith power-generation facilities, has facilities forutilizing heat externally. The ratios shown aredetermined by PWMI surveys based on values
published by the Ministry of the Environment. The
announcement of these values, by the way, is now
made at an earlier date by the ministry, and thisreport therefore uses actual values from theprevious fiscal year .
3-4 Disposal and recovery of industrial waste
・Disposal and recovery of industrial waste ispartially commissioned to local governments as
business-related waste. The ratio of suchprocessing by business to that commissioned to
local governments is determined on the basis of
PWMI surveys. The percentage breakdown ofcommissioned processing into incineration withpower generation, incineration with heat utilization
facility, incineration without power generation orheat utilization facility, and landfilling is based on
figures for domestic waste processing.
The incineration/landfilling ratio in theprocessing of industrial waste and the energy
recovery rate in incineration with power generation
are based on the latest surveys conducted by
PWMI in fiscal years 2006/2008.

PWMI Newsletter 3

Flowchart of plastic products,
plastic waste and resource recovery
2009[ Unit; thousand tons ]Resin production, resin processing, and marketing of products

Discharge

Disposal and recovery

Domestic waste
Mechanical recycling

❶

700

Resin
production

Resinexport11,2104,220
Resin
import1,590

Liquefaction, gasification, blast furnace

220❷

Domestic
plastic products
consumption

Use❹

Post-use
products
discharge

4,440

8,460

8,430

Domestic
waste

Product
export❸Incineration with power generation

1,850

Liquefaction,
gasification,
blast furnace

Incineration withheat utilization facility

320
4%Incineration without power generationor heat utilization facility

Densifiedrefuse
derived fuelLandfilling

420
5%

70

540

Total
plastic waste
discharge

Product
importIndustrial waste

9,120

1,530

Mechanical recycling

1,300

Liquidresin,etc.

Liquefaction, gasification, blast furnace

1,020
Resin
processing
waste

480
Note 1Resinproduction
waste

110

Production
andProcessing
waste

660

Production
Non-useand
Processing
waste discharge

660

180
Reclaimed
products

540

Note 2

4❺

Densified-refuse derived fuelIndustrial
waste

4,680

recycling

2,000
22%

700

720

※6
❻Mechanical

Densified-refuse derived fuel360

Note 3Sum of waste

350

Incineration with power generation

1,430

Incineration withheat utilization facility

800

Incineration without power
generation or heat utilization facility

360

Incineration
with power
generation

Utilized
plastic waste

7,180
79%

3,280
36%
Incineration
with heatutilization facility

1,160
13%

Incineration
without power
generation or heatutilization facility

1,070
12%

Landfilling

880
10%

Non-utilized
plastic waste

1,950
21%

Landfilling
Note 1: Resin production does not include the quantity shown for resin production waste
Note 2: The quantity shown this year for reclaimed products is based on that of mechanicalrecycling from the previous year (2,140 thousand tons) excluding exported portion(1,510 thousand tons) and the amount used for fiber from PET bottles (90 thousand tons).
Note 3: The figure for post-use products discharge is computed by a PWMI estimation system
based on usage for different demand areas and different resin types (from 1976) andproduct lifetimes for different demand areas (60-years discharge model created by
PWMI).
Note 4: Some figures may not exactly match due to rounding.

340※ ❶〜❻ corresponds to the graph of next page.

PWMI Newsletter 5

Details of flowchart elements❶ Breakdown of resin production(11,210thousand tons) by resin type

❷ Breakdown of resin products by field(8,430 thousand tons)
Others 450

Thermosetting
resin
1,180

10.5%

Other
thermoplastic
resin
1,900

17.0%

5.3%

Polyethylene
2,810

25.0%

Thermoplastic
resin

89.5%
Polystyrene(including SAN, ABS)
1,240
11.1% Polyvinylchloride
1,670

Agriculture,
forestry and fishery
150 1.8%

Householdarticles,etc.
800

9.5%

Transportation
850

Containers andpackaging
3,760

10.1%

44.6%

Building materals
1,000Polypropylene
2,410

21.5%

11.9%

Electric andmachinery
1,420

16.9%

14.9%

(Source: METI chemical-industry statistics)(Source: estimates from related organizations)❸ Breakdown of total plastic waste (9,120 thousand tons) (by field)
Production andprocessing waste
660
Others
7.2%
520

Others
1,910

5.7%

Building
materals
780 8.5%

Householdarticles,etc.
1,050

11.5%

21.0%
Containers andpackaging
4,010

Post-use
products

43.9%

91.1%

Polyvinylchloride
900

Polyethylene
2,880

31.6%

9.8%

Polystyrene(including SAN, ABS) Polypropylene
2,130
1,290 14.2%

Electric andmachinery
1,430

23.4%

15.7%

Transportration
500 5.5%
Agriculture,forestry and fishery 170 1.9%

(by field)(by discharge type)❹ Breakdown of domestic waste by field(4,440 thousand tons)❺ Breakdown of industrial waste by field(4,680 thousand tons)

Agriculture,forestry and fishery 0 0.1%
Householdarticles,etc. Production and
130
processing waste
2.7%
660
Others
14.1%
260 5.5%

Others260

5.8%Householdarticles,etc.
930

20.9%

Containers andpackaging
2,990

Transportation
500

67.3%

Electric
and machinery
190 4.2%
Building materals 80

6

10.7%

Building
materals
700

Electric andmachinery
1,250

26.6%

Container
and package
1,020

21.8%

14.9%

1.7%
(by resin type)

Agriculture,
forestry and fishery 170

3.6%(by resin type)❻ Breakdown of mechanical recycling (2,140 thousand tons)○ Breakdown of mechanical recycling resources
Others310

15.5%

Production andprocessing waste
660 thousand tons

Polystyrene(including SAN, ABS)
200 10.1%

Post-use products
1340 thousand tons

32.9%

67.1%

PET vesin indesignated PET bottle
540

26.8%

Polyvinylchloride
270(containing 700 thousand tons of
post-use products
from domestic waste)

13.2%

Polyethylene
350

Polypropylene
340

17.3%

17.0%

○ Breakdown of post-use products for mechanical recycling(1,280 thousand tons)
511

PET bottles

226

Wrapping film
Home electric-appliancehousings, etc

177

Expanded polystyrene
packing material, etc

80Agricultural plastics

74

Electric-wirecovering material

68
66

Containers and the like46

Automobile parts

26

Pipes, etc.
Expandedpolystyrene trays

13
7

Non-PET bottles

49

Others
0

10

20

30

40

(by type of reclaimed products)

Recycled products
600 thousand tons
Recycled material
1,400 thousand tons

30.1%

50

60

70

80

90

100 110 120130

140 150 160

170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240

500

550

[ thousand tons ](by destination of recycling use)

Domestic 440
thousand tons

22.1%

Export 1,490
thousand tons

69.9%

74.2%

Fiber(from bottles) 70 3.6%

PWMI Newsletter 7

Plastics production and waste discharge
Resinproduction

Domestic plastic
products
consumption

Total plastic
waste
discharge

1,000 t /year

1,000 t /year

1,000 t /year

1985

9,230

6,990

1990

12,6301995

Year

Domestic waste

Industrial waste

1,000 t /year%

1,000 t /year

%

4,190

2,320

55

1,870

45

9,990

5,570

3,130

56

2,440

44

14,030

9,790

8,840

4,430

50

4,410

50

1996

14,66010,810

9,090

4,550

50

4,540

50

1997

15,21011,360

9,490

4,780

50

4,710

50

1998

13,910

10,200

9,840

4,990

51

4,850

49

1999

14,57010,810

9,760

4,860

50

4,900

50

2000

14,74010,980

9,970

5,080

51

4,890

49

2001

13,88010,96010,160

5,280

52

4,890

48

2002

13,850

10,570

9,900

5,080

51

4,820

49

2003

13,98011,01010,010

5,130

51

4,880

49

2004

14,46011,360

10,130

5,190

51

4,940

49

2006

14,450

11,20010,050

5,080

51

4,980

49

2008

13,45010,890

9,980

5,020

50

4,960

50

2009

11,210

8,430

9,120

4,440

49

4,680

51

1980

7,520

2005

5,520

14,510

2007

3,250

11,59014,650

1,780

10,06011,030

5,200

9,940

5,020

55

1,470

52

4,860

51

4,920

45

48
49

Change in Utilized Plastic Waste
by Amount and Rate Over Time
Year

1990

1995

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Utilization
amount

1,440

2,210

4,940

5,350

5,420

5,750

6,110

6,280

7,210

7,220

7,580

7,180

Utilizationrate(%)

26

25

50

53

55

58

60

62

72

73

76

79

(thousand tons)

Please see the PWMI Web site for detailed data on the production, discharge, reuse, and disposal of plastic products.

8

Introduction To PWMI
Goals and Tasks
The Plastic Waste Management Institute(PWMI) was originally founded as
the Plastic Management Research
Association in November 1971, andreceived its current name in July 1972 as
a result of expanded operations.
The goals of PWMI are to research anddevelop systems for optimal processingof plastic waste and effective use ofprocessed waste as a resource, and topromote the use of these systems.
To accomplish these goals, PWMI
performs a wide variety of tasks. These
include researching and developing
technologies for using plastic wastee f f e c t i v e l y, p e r f o r m i n g m o d e lexperiments, disseminating technologies,
conducting research surveys, publicizing
the work of PWMI.

Activities
Ongoing R&D, Surveys,
and Public Relations
Since its founding, PWMI has been
engaged in various activities related
to plastic waste. These range from thedevelopment of processing and recycling
technologies to the surveying of discharge
amounts and waste-processing conditions
and publicity work to raise the level ofconsciousness regarding the processing
and recycling of plastic waste. The
main activities at PWMI are presented
below in the section titled “Operations(1971-2011).” For the future, PWMI
plans to continue its work on plastic
waste through activities of this nature.

Responding to
New Challenges

In the last few years, under the keywordof the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle),
Japan has enacted a number of laws
related to recycling, including The Basic
Law for Establishing a Recycling-based
Society. In January 2005,the End-of-Life

9

Vehicle Recycling Law (Automobile
Recycling Law) became effective andother full-scale activities were launchedtoward achieving the goal of sustainable
development. These efforts are helping togradually decrease the quantity of final
waste disposal and to ease the pressure
on final disposal sites. For the past
several years, the PWMI has made great
efforts toward the enforcement of and thesmooth operations of the Containers andPackaging Recycling Law. Efforts include
recycle technology related to liquefaction,
gasification, and reducing agent in blast
furnaces. At the same time, PWMI
provides relevant information about law
provisions and enforcement.
Recently PWMI has been advancing
activities to help comply with recycling
laws for home appliance and automobile.
We are concentrating efforts to develop
feedstock recycle technology that
effectively uses shredder dust, which
is a main component of plastic. We arealso concentrating efforts to develop
recycle technology for individual plastic
products like the material used to make a

CD-ROM, which is an area of recycling
expected to expand rapidly in the future.
Since 1991, PWMI has energeticallyused life cycle inventory and the life
cycle assessment methods to examine
plastic recycling. Making use of theresults of these studies accumulated over
the years, PWMI is also developing a
new assessment tool to determine thebest recycling method based on how
the plastic waste is generated. The
eco-efficiency analysis tool integrates
resource preservation, environmental
burden, and economic (social) cost
factors.
A frequent request from educational
institutions is access to learning material
related to plastic waste and recycling
for environmental studies. In response,
PWMI has placed high priority on
developing its website as a means topublicize activities. In addition, as people
grow increasingly concerned about
matters related to health and safety,
PWMI will distribute information about
the high safety of materials that have been
recycled from plastic waste.

Members

The current members consist of thefollowing 18 corporations, 3 organizations
and 4 supporting members (as of May 2011).

● Regular members
Asahikasei Chemicals Corporation.
DuPont-Mitsui Polychemicals Co., Ltd
Japan Polyethylene Corporation
Japan Polypropylene CorporationJNC Corporation
Kaneka Corporation
Maruzen Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
Nippon Unicar Co., Ltd.
Prime Polymer Co., Ltd.
Shin Dai-Ichi Vinyl Corporation
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
SunAllomer Ltd.
Taiyo Vinyl Corporation
Tosoh Corp.
Tokuyama Sekisui Co., Ltd.
Ube-Maruzen Polyethylene Co., Ltd.

● Trade Organizations
Japan Petrochemical
Industry Association

Japan Plastics Industry Federation
Vinyl Environmental Council● Supporting Members
Japan PET Bottle Association
Japan Expanded Polystyrene
Recycling Association
Japan PVC Environmental
Affairs Council

Vinylidene Chloride HealthConferenceOperations(1971-2011)
Recent Projects

Target Field

Technology development

Sorting,
volume reduction

Recycling promotion

Feedstock recycling

Incineration,energy recovery

Technology
development support

Surveys

Domestic waste
systems

Industrial waste
systems
Production to processing/disposal flow
Overseas surveys

Public relations

Exhibits,etc

Organization

Research of PET-bottle recovery system.
Development of automatic sorting/separation technology
using near-infrared radiation(spectroscopic analysis).
Development of volume-reduction technology for raisingwaste-transport efficiency.
Develop automatic sorting/separation technology andsystems using near-infrared radiation (for shredder dust),
static electricity, and buoyancy.
Research and develop mechanical-recycling system for plastic
waste.
Survey current state of mechanical recycling/processing
industry

ChairmanVice Chairman
Executive Director
Secretary General

Develop technologies for using plastic waste as raw
material for liquefaction and gasification through thermal
breakdown techniques.
Develop technology for using plastic waste as a
blast-furnace reducing agent in steel production.

General Planning Dept

Investigate conditions for suppressing generation of toxic
substances and technologies for removing them whenincinerating plastic waste.
Develop energy-recovery technologies throughdensified-refuse derived fuel.
Make extensive calls for new technology-development
themes in relation to recycling technologies, reclaimed
products, and combustion techniques,and fund R&D
expenses.
Survey and develop techniques for evaluating
environmental effects and environmental load-economy ofrecycling. (LCI, LCA, eco-efficiency analysis)

General Affairs Dept
Research &Development Dept
Surveys Department
Public Relations
Department

Survey local-government activities to determine amount ofplastic waste occupied by domestic waste.
Survey progress in constructing PET-bottle recycling
systems.
Obtain basic data for performing life cycle analyses (LCA).
Survey discharge, processing, and reuse of industrial plastic
waste.
Perform a basic survey on the reuse of plastic waste
generated in construction.
Survey current state of plastic production,discharge, reuse, andprocessing/disposal in Japan, quantify its macro flow, and publish
an annual report.
Survey overseas trends in plastic recycling and processing.
Participate in international conferences and exchange
information in conjunction with European and U.S.
organizations (Plastics Europe/APC) and Far East Asian
countries (Korea, Taiwan, etc.).

General Meeting

Gather materials at recycling sites and local governments
and disseminatere cycling-related information throughperiodical publications.
Announce and publicize results of PWMI activities andcurrent state of plastic recycling in newspapers, mass
media,etc.

Dissemination of
information throughdigital and audio/visual
media

Disseminate explanatory material on PWMI activities andplastic recycling to local governments, general public, andstudents through pamphlets, and Web sites.
Prepare a Web site for recycling and environmental studies
targeting elementary and junior high schools

Plastic Waste Management InstituteWeb site: http://www.pwmi.or.jp
May 2011 700

10

Auditors

Board of Directors

Hold “Recycled Products Exhibition” as a cosponsor with
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) andthe Japan Plastics Effective Utilization Union.
Support recycling exhibits held by local governments andrecycling organizations.

Dissemination of
information throughprint media

Consultants & Advisors

Managing Member
Committee
Committee on
General Affairs
Committee on Research& Development
Committee on Surveys
Committee on
Public Relations
Committee on
Loan Guarantees

Sumitomorokko Bldg., 1-4-1 Shinkawa Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0033 Japan
Tel: 81-3-3297-7511, Fax: 81-3-3297-7501