PWMI NewsletterNO

53 2024.1

Plastic Waste Management InstituteJAPAN

Plastic Products, PlasticWaste andResource Recovery [2022]
Background information and notes on the publication of the Flowchartof Plastic Products, Plastic Waste and Resource Recovery (2022)
To improve the accuracy of the Flowchart of Plastic
Products, Plastic Waste and Resource Recovery, we (1)surveyed the amount of plastic waste generated fromdisasters and (2) surveyed the amount of scattered plastic
waste (marine litter).
(1) “Post-use products discharge” appearing in the
discharge stage of the flowchart has been calculated frompast domestic plastic input and average product lifetimeby type of use, so large amounts of plastic waste
generated in the short term by unpredictable disasters
have not been taken into account. We therefore assessed
the need for reflecting those amounts in the flowchart bycalculating the amount of plastic waste generated at thetime of a disaster. In the absence of a large-scale disaster(such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake), theamount of plastic discharged in relation to disasters wascalculated to be about 10–20 kt based on statistical data.
However, it has been established that several years areneeded to determine the amount of plastic discharged at
the time of a large-scale disaster, so reflecting it in the
flowchart in a timely manner has been found to bedifficult. With this in mind, we decided to set disasterrelated plastic waste for a year in which no large-scaledisaster occurs (such as 2022) at 15 kt/year and to
calculate plastic waste at the time of a large-scale disasterby a separate, special calculation taking into accountdisaster conditions. Disaster-related plastic waste ishandled as domestic (general) waste, and with regard to
the disposal-and-recovery classification, we converted
the recycled classification and final-recovery
classification in the “Report on the Study and Survey ofWide-Area Movement of Waste and Related Measuresand Survey on the Actual Amounts of Recycled Waste ”
of the Ministry of the Environment to the disposal-andrecovery classification of PWMI for reflection in the
flowchart from this year on.
(2) Plastic waste resulting from littering such as PET
bottles (as well as illegally dumped plastic waste) is
included in domestic waste, but since the amount of suchplastic waste is unclear, it has not been possible to enter
it as a constituent element on the flowchart. We therefore
assessed the need for reflecting it in the flowchart bycalculating that amount. The amount of plastic spilling
into the ocean is presently estimated to be several 10 kt/
year, so its effect on the flowchart is considered to belimited. The accuracy of that figure, however, is still
being tested, and to investigate means of improving theaccuracy of the flowchart, the amount of spillage not
only into the ocean but also onto land, in the air, etc.
must be understood. For this reason, we decided not toreflect that figure in this year’s flowchart and to continue
our survey of spillage as scattered plastic waste.

PWMI Newsletter 1

2022 Highlights(1)At 9,510 kt, resin production decreased to 2020 levels at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, but resin export decreased while
resin import increased, so domestic plastics products consumption increased slightly from the previous year to 9,100 kt.
(2)Total plastic waste discharge was about the same at 8,230 kt.
(3)Effectively used plastic waste was the same as the previous year at 7,170 kt while the effective plastic utilization rate wasalso the same at 87%.
In 2022, resin production decreased from the previous year
coming to 9,510 kt (-940 kt relative to 2021, -9%). Resin export
and product export also decreased coming to 3,460 kt (-450 kt;-12%) and 870 kt (-40 kt; -4%), respectively. On the other hand,resin import and product import increased coming to 2,610 kt(+240 kt; +10%) and 2,180 kt (+60 kt; +3%), respectively, and as
a result, domestic plastics products consumption increased slightly
to 9,100 kt (+110 kt; +1%). The figures for exported and imported
plastic parts from assembled products were about the same thereby
canceling each other out so that domestic plastic input also
increased slightly to 8,950 kt (+80 kt; +1%).
Total plastic waste discharge was about the same at 8,230 kt(-10 kt; ±0%), which can be broken down into an increase indomestic (general) plastic waste to 4,240 kt (+50 kt; +1%) and adecrease in industrial waste to 3,990 kt (-60 kt; -2%). It can beseen from these figures that the ratio of industrial waste continued
to drop from the previous year.
In terms of disposal and recovery methods, mechanicalrecycling increased to 1,800 kt (+30 kt; +1%), feedstock
recycling*1 decreased to 280 kt (-20 kt; -7%), and energy
recovery*2 decreased in total to 5,100 kt (-10 kt; ±0%). As aresult, effective plastic utilization at 7,170 kt (±0 kt; ±0%) was
about the same as was the case with total plastic waste discharge.
Unused plastic waste by simple incineration and landfilling was
also about the same as the previous year at 1,070 kt (-10 kt; -1%).
On breaking down mechanical recycling, the export of scrap
plastic came to 510 kt (-50 kt; -10%) while the export of recycledmaterial came to 710 kt (-40 kt; -5%). The amount of scrap plastic
processed and exported as recycled material decreased for the firsttime due to the ongoing effects of amendments to the Basel
Convention and other regulations. At the same time, the domestic
use of recycled products in mechanical recycling continued its
upward trend at 530 kt (+140 kt; +35%). The percentage
contributions to the effective plastic utilization rate by mechanicalrecycling, feedstock recycling, and energy recovery were 22%(+0.3 points), 3% (-0.2 points), and 62% (±0 points), respectively,
resulting in the same value as the previous year at 87%.
*1:feedstock recycling = blast/coke furnaces + gasification(chemical materialuse) + liquefaction*2:energy recovery = gasfication(fuel use)+densified-refuse derived fuel and cement
material/fuel + incineration with power generation + incineration with heatutilization facility

Explanation of flowchart items(1) Resin production, resin processing,and marketing of products
1-1 Resin production
・This figure was estimated on the basis of chemical-industry
statistics from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI). Note that (synthetic) resin does not include synthetic
rubber or synthetic fiber.
1-2 Reclaimed products
・For convenience sake, this figure was estimated assuming thatthe domestically used portion of the previous year’s produced
mechanical recycling products (recycled resin) is used in thecurrent year while taking figures such as the amount of exported
recycled resin into account.
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)}
・Resin export/import figures are based on trade statistics from the
Ministry of Finance.
・Figures for liquid resin, etc. such as additives and paints that falloutside the scope of plastic waste at the time of discharge arebased on chemical-industry statistics from METI.
・Figures for plastic product export and import are based on trade
statistics from the Ministry of Finance.
・Resin processing waste refers to discharged waste from theprocessing step that is not turned into products.
1-4 Domestic plastic input
・( d o m e s t i c p l a s t i c i n p u t ) = ( d o m e s t i c p l a s t i c p r o d u c t s

2

consumption) – {(exported plastic parts from assembled
products) – (imported plastic parts from assembled products)}
・Assembled products: transportation related products (mainly
automobile), Electrical and electronic equipment (mainly home
appliances)
・Number of exported/imported assembled products:Automobile
figures were determined from an automobile database(Japan
Automobiles Dealers Association (JADA), etc);home appliancefigures were based on the statics of “Association for ElectricHome Appliances (AEHA)”,”Japan Electrical Manufacturers'
Association (JEMA)”,”Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association (JEITA)” , etc.

(2) Discharge
2-1 Post-use products discharge
・This figure is calculated by a PWMI estimation system based on
domestic plastic input by demand-generating fields and by resin
type (usage quantities have been calculated annually from 1976)
and on a new product discharge model by demand-generating
fields (“100-year discharge model” formulated by PWMI in2017).
・Since the export of used automobiles or used home appliances
affects post-use products discharge in Japan, corrections weremade to plastic waste discharge in the transport industry or theelectronics/electronic-equipment industry. Here, the number ofexported used automobiles was based on data released by theJapan Automobile Dealers Association while the number ofexported used home appliances was based on “2017 Flow
Estimation Results” in the “Current State of the Implementationof Recycling Based on the Home Appliances Recycling Act”

prepared by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI) and Ministry of the Environment (MOE).
・Discharge ratios for domestic waste and industrial waste were
estimated using a new product discharge model by demandgenerating fields (formulated by PWMI in 2017).
・Disaster-related plastic waste is handled as domestic (general)
waste, and for a year in which no large-scale disaster occurs, theamount of disaster-related plastic waste is set to 15 kt/year,
while in the event of a large-scale disaster, it is set by a separate,
special calculation taking into account disaster conditions.
2-2 Production and processing waste discharge
・Amount of resin production waste (resin discharged as waste in
the resin-production stage) is not included in the amount of resin
production. The amount of resin production waste and amountof resin processing waste were each estimated using a prescribed
waste ratio.In addition, we used a new value for the productionwaste ratio calculated from the results of the survey conductedby PWMI in fiscal year 2018.
2-3 Total plastic waste discharge
・(total plastic waste discharge) = (post-use products discharge) +(resin production waste) + (resin processing waste)
2-4 Breakdown of total plastic waste discharge by resin type・These breakdown figures were estimated from amounts of postuse products discharge, production and processing waste
discharge, resin production, etc.

(3) Disposal and recovery
・With regard to the disposal-and-recovery classification ofdisaster-related plastic waste, the recycled classification andfinal-recovery classification in the “Report on the Study and
Survey of Wide-Area Movement of Waste and Related Measuresand Survey on the Actual Amounts of Recycled Waste ” of the
Ministry of the Environment was converted to the disposal-andrecovery classification of PWMI and calculated accordingly.
3-1 Mechanical recycling
・Figures for the mechanical recycling of domestic plastic
waste were based on the weight of collected PET bottles(The Council for PET Bottle Recycling) and weight ofcollected white trays (Japan Plastic Food Container
Industry Association), and figures for the mechanicalrecycling of other plastic containers and packaging as
specified by the Containers and Packaging Recycling
Law were based on data released by The Japan
Containers And Packaging Recycling Association.
Residual amounts after the mechanical recycling of otherplastic containers and packaging were allocated todensified-refuse derived fuel using figures released by
The Japan Containers And Packaging Recycling
Association as coefficients.
・The amount of mechanically recycled industrial waste
was determined by subtracting the amount of
mechanically recycled domestic waste from the total ofmechanical recycling originating in post-use products(revised in fiscal year 2021) and mechanical recycling
originating in production and processing waste estimatedfrom statistical figures of industry associations.
Furthermore, based on the results of the survey
conducted in 2018, the amount of mechanically recycled
production waste was set to approximately 70% from the2018 flowchart on while the amount of mechanicallyrecycled processing waste was set to approximately 60%
from the 2019 flowchart on.
・Recycled resin = scrap plastic + recycled material +recycled products. Scrap plastic refers to plastic waste
subjected to intermediate processing (crushing, washing,etc.) as an objective of mechanical recycling. Recycledmaterial, meanwhile, refers to pellets, ingots, flakes, fluff,
etc., while recycled products refer to shipping pallets,building materials, miscellaneous daily goods, etc.

・The export figure for recycled resin was taken to be thetotal export figure for scrap plastic and recycledmaterial. The amount of exported scrap plastic was
calculated after correcting the amount of exported“scrap
plastic”based on trade statistics from the Ministry of
Finance. In addition, the amount of exported recycledmaterial was calculated using trade statistics from the
Ministry of Finance in relation to resin material andstatistics from the Japan Petrochemical Industry
Association. Moreover, the amount of imported scrap
plastic, though being small enough to be ignored, was still astatistical figure and therefore subtracted from the amountof import, but the amount of imported recycled products
was ignored. Furthermore, since the amount of imported
recycled material and the amount of exported recycled
products were already recorded in the amount of imported/
exported resin and products, they were not included in thiscalculation.
3-2 Densified-refuse derived fuel and cement material/fuel,blast/coke furnaces, gasification, and liquefaction
・Figures for densified-refuse derived fuel includes plastic waste
for power generation; figures for densified-refuse derived fueland cement material/fuel are based on the results of surveys
covering respective industry associations.
・Figures for blast furnace raw materials, coke-oven chemicalmaterials, gasification, and liquefaction approved as productrecycling methods by the Containers and Packaging Recycling
Law are based on data released by The Japan Containers And
Packaging Recycling Association. Associated figures for industrial
waste were based mainly on the results of questionnaires.
3-3 Incineration/landfilling of domestic waste
・Incineration/landfilling ratio
This figure was estimated using the results of PWMI surveys
based on figures in the “FY2020 Nation Survey on the State ofDischarge and Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste” released by
the Ministry of the Environment.
・Incineration with power generation, incineration with heatutilization, and simple incineration of domestic waste“Incineration with power generation” means incineration
processing by an incinerator equipped with power-generation
facilities, “incineration with heat utilization” means incineration
processing by an incinerator that, while not equipped withpower-generation facilities, has facilities for utilizing heat
externally, and simple incineration means incineration
processing by an incinerator other than that above. The ratios
shown were estimated using the results of PWMI surveys basedon values released by the Ministry of the Environment.
3-4 Incineration/landfilling of industrial waste
・The disposal and recovery of industrial waste is partiallycommissioned to local governments as business-related
waste. Here, for the ratio of such processing by business
operators to that commissioned to local governments, weused a new value calculated from the results of thesurvey conducted in fiscal year 2018. The percentage
breakdown of commissioned processing into incineration
with power generation, incineration with heat utilization
facility, simple incineration, and landfilling was based on
figures for domestic waste processing.
・For business operators, the incineration/landfilling ratio
and the percentage breakdown of incineration processing
into incineration with power generation, incineration
with heat utilization facility, and simple incineration were
new values calculated from the results of the survey
conducted in fiscal year 2018.
・Figures for incineration with power generation includes plastic
waste traded for a price.

PWMI Newsletter 3

Flowchart of plastic products,
plastic waste and resource recovery
2022[ Unit：10kt（ten thousand tons）]
Resin production, resin processing, and marketing of products

Discharge❶
Resinproduction

Resinexport

951

346
Resin
import❷Domestic
plastic products
consumption

910

Use

Domestic Plastic
input

895

Post-use
products
discharge

759

261
Note 3

Product
export87❸

plProduct
import218
Liquidresin,etc.

68
Resin
processing
waste

58

Production
andProcessing
waste

64
Note 1

Non-use

Production
andProcessing
waste discharge

64

Resin
productionwaste

6
Reclaimed
products

40

Note 2

4Note 1 : Resin production does not include the quantity shown for resin production waste
Note 2 : The quantity shown this year for reclaimed products(40 ten housand tons) is based on that of mechanicalrecycling from the previous year (177 ten thousand tons) excluding exported portion (131 ten thousand tons)
and the amount used for fiber from PET bottles (7 ten thousand tons).
Note 3 : he figure for post-use products discharge is computed by a PWMI estimation system based on usage fordifferent demand areas and different resin types (from 1976) and product lifetimes for different demand areas(100-years discharge model created by PWMI at 2017).
Note 4 : Some figures may not exactly match due to rounding.
※❶〜❻ corresponds to the graph of next page.

Disposal and recovery

Domestic waste
Mechanical recycling

71

Liquefaction, gasification(chemical material use),
blast furnace❹

27

Domestic
waste

424

Densified-refuse derived fuel /cement material and fuelLiquefaction,
gasification(chemical material use),
blast furnace28

Incineration with power generation

219

28
3%

Incineration withheat utilization facility

Gasification(fuel use)

46

Landfilling

15

Industrial waste
Mechanical recycling

109

Liquefaction, gasification(chemical material use),
blast furnace1❺

Gasification(fuel use)

9

Industrial
waste

399

recycling

180
22%

4

Incineration without power generationor heat utilization facility

823※6❻MechanicalGasification(fuel use)

16

Total
lastic waste
discharge

Sum of waste

Densified-refuse derived fuel /cement material and fuel160

Incineration with power generation

41

Incineration withheat utilization facility

32

Incineration without power
generation or heat utilization facility

15

13
2%

Densified-refuse
derived fuel /cement material
and fuel

Utilized
plastic waste

717
87%

189
23%

Incineration
with power
generation

260
32%
Incineration
with heatutilization facility

48
6%

Incineration
without power
generation or heatutilization facility

61
6%

Landfilling46
6%

Non-utilized
plastic waste

107
13%

Landfilling

31

PWMI Newsletter 5

Details of flowchart elements（unit：10kt（ten thousand tons））❶ Breakdown of resin production by resin type(951 ten thousand tons)❷ Breakdown of domestic (general) plastic products
consumption by field (910 ten thousand tons)
Others 52 5.7%

Thermosetting
resin
83

8.8%
Other
thermoplastic
resin
174

Polyethylene
224

23.5%

18.3%

Thermoplastic
resin91.2% Polypropylene
212
22.3%
Polyvinylchloride
154

Polystyrene(including SAN, ABS)
103

10.9%

Agriculture,
forestry and fishery
Household11 1.3%articles,etc. 86

9.5%

Building
materials 98

Containers andpackaging
407

10.8%

44.7%

Transportation
115

12.6%

Electric andmachinery
140

16.2%

15.4%

❸ Breakdown of total plastic waste by field and resin type (823 ten thousand tons)
Production andprocessing waste
64
Others
7.8%
52

Others
172

6.3%

20.9%

Building
materials
58 7.1%
Householdarticles,etc.
76 9.2%

Containers andpackaging404

Post-use
products

49.1%

92.2%

Polyethylene
287

34.9%

Polyvinylchloride
70 8.5%Polystyrene(including SAN, ABS) Polypropylene
197
97 11.7%

Electric andmachinery
143

23.9%

17.3%

Transportation
16 1.9%Agriculture,forestry and fishery 12 1.4%

(by field)(by resin type)❹ Breakdown of domestic(general) waste byfield (424 ten thousand tons)
Agriculture,forestry Transportationand fishery 0 0.0%

0 0.0%
Agriculture,
forestry andfishery 12 Production andprocessing waste
3.0%
64

Others21

4.9%Householdarticles,etc.
58 13.8%

Others31 7.7%
Containers andpackaging
328

77.4%

Electric
and machinery
17 3.9%Building materials 0 0.0%6

❺ Breakdown of industrial waste by field (399 ten
thousand tons)

16.0%

31.6%

Transportation
16 3.9%Building
materials
58

14.6%

Householdarticles,etc.
17 4.3%

Electric andmachinery
126

Containers
and packaging
75

18.9%

❻ Breakdown of mechanical recycling (180 ten thousand tons)○ Breakdown of mechanical recycling resources and resin type

OthersOthers17 17
Polypropylene
9.4%
9.4% Polypropylene
36 36

Production
Production
andandprocessing
processing
waste
waste
38 38

20.3%
20.3%

21.0%
21.0% Post-use
Post-use
products
products

PETPET
resinresin
in indesignateddesignated
PETPETbottlebottle53 53142142

79.0%
79.0%

29.6%
29.6%

(containing(containing
71 ten71thousand
ten thousand
tons oftons ofpost-use
post-use
products
products
from domestic
from domestic
waste)waste)

Polyethylene
Polyethylene
35 35

19.4%
19.4%

Polyvinylchloride
Polyvinylchloride
24 24

13.1%
13.1%

Polystyrene(including
Polystyrene(including
SAN,SAN,ABS)ABS)
15 15
8.1%
8.1%

○ Breakdown of post-use products for mechanical recycling (142 ten thousand tons)

51 51

PET PETbottlesbottles

26 26

Wrapping
Wrapping
film film

18 18

Home
Home
electric-applianceelectric-appliancehousings,
housings,
etc. etc.

14 14Pallets,containers
Pallets,containers
and andthe like
the like
Expanded
Expandedpolystyrene
polystyrene
packing
packing
material,material,
etc. etc.

6 6

Non-PET
Non-PETbottlesbottles

6 6

PET PETbottlebottlecapscaps

4 4

Automobile
Automobile
parts
parts

4 4

Agricultural
Agricultural
plastics
plastics

3 3

Pipes,
Pipes,
etc. etc.

3 3Electric-wireElectric-wirecovering
covering
materialmaterial
Expanded
Expandedpolystyrene
polystyrene
traystrays

2 2
1 1

OthersOthers

5 5

0

10 2 1 32 43

54 6 57687

9 8 10 9 1110 1211 1312 1413 1514 1615 1716 1817 1918 2019 2120 2221 2322 2423 2524 2625 2726 50 27 5150

5251

52

[ ten thousand[ ten thousand
tons ]tons ](by destination of recycling use)

Total mechanical recycling(ten thousand)
100%100%
90% 90%80% 80%70% 70%60% 60%173 173

177 177

180 180

18.7%
18.7%2.7%
3.6%
2.7% 22.4%
22.4%3.6%
32 32

35.8%
35.8%
62 62

50% 50%

5

5

40 40

7

42.3%
42.3%

20% 20%

42.7%
42.7%
74 74

0% 0%

■Export■Export

2020年
2020年

■Export■Export

53 53

39.6%
39.6%

31.7%
31.7%

28.2%
28.2%

56 56

10% 10%

29.7%
29.7%

75 75

40% 40%30% 30%

7

2021年
2021年

■Domestic■Domesticuse use

71 71

51 51

2022年
2022年

2.5%
2.5%
4

4

Scrap plastic:plastic waste subjected to intermediate
processing (crushing, washing, etc.) as an objective of
mechanical recycling
Recycled material:pellets, ingots, flakes, etc.
Recycled products:shipping pallets, building materials,
miscellaneous daily goods, etc.
* The amount of exported recycled products and the amounts ofimported scrap plastic and recycled material were small enough tobe ignored.

■Domestic■Domesticuse use(Scrap(Scrapplastic)
plastic)(Recycled(Recycledmaterial)material)(Recycled(Recycled
products)
products)(recycled(recycled
fiber fromfiber PET
from bottle
PET bottle
waste)
waste)PWMI Newsletter 7

Change in Utilized Plastic Waste
by Amount and Rate Over Time2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Year
Total Plastic
waste
discharge(10kt)

997 1,016

990 1,001 1,013 1,006 1,005

994

998

912 945952

929 940

Utilization
amount(10kt)

461

513

516

541

575

582 688692

733 689 723

744

744

767

768

701 695

Utilizationrate(%)

46

50

52

54

57

58

69

73

78

80

82

83

80

69

75

77

926 879 860

81

861

850

822

824

823

710 720

726

710

718

717

82

85

86

87

87

863

84

100

1,200

1,100

1,000

90

800

80
％

700
70

600

500
60

400

300

50

200

100

0

40
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Mechanical Recycle

Feedstock Recycle

Energy Recovery＊Incineration without power genaration or heat utilization facility
2015〜：Value recalculated by applying the latest data

8

Incineration＊

Landfilling

Utilization rate

︵ ︶utilization rate

︵ 10 ︶
Disposal and recovery
kt

900

Plastics production and waste discharge
Resinproduction

Domestic plastic
products
consumption

Total plastic
waste
discharge

10 kt

10 kt

10 kt

10 kt

%

10 kt

%

1995

1,403

979

884

443

50

441

50

1996

1,466

1,081

909

455

50

454

50

1997

1,521

1,136

949

478

50

471

50

1998

1,391

1,020

984

499

51

485

49

1999

1,457

1,081

976

486

50

490

50

2000

1,474

1,098

997

508

51

489

49

2001

1,388

1,096

1,016

528

52

489

48

2002

1,385

1,057

990

508

51

482

49

2003

1,398

1,101

1,001

513

51

488

49

2004

1,446

1,136

1,013

519

51

494

49

2005

1,451

1,159

1,006

520

52

486

48

2006

1,445

1,120

1,005

508

51

498

50

2007

1,465

1,103

994

502

51

492

49

2008

1,345

1,089

998

502

50

496

50

2009

1,121

843

912

444

49

468

51

2010

1,270

970

945

459

49

486

51

2011

1,159

987

952

465

49

486

51

2012

1,054

960

929

446

48

482

52

2013

1,060

966

940

454

48

486

52

2014

1,061

977

926

442

48

483

52

2015

1,086

877

879

415

47

464

53

2016

1,075

888

860

385

45

475

55

2017

1,102

917

863

394

46

469

54

2018

1,067

932

861

405

47

456

53

2019

1,050

939

850

412

48

438

52

2020

963

841

822

410

50

413

50

2021

1,045

900

824

419

51

405

49

2022

951

910

823

424

52

399

48

Year

Domestic waste

Industrial waste

2015〜：Value recalculated by applying the latest data

PWMI Newsletter 9

Business Overview
History

Originally founded in December 1971
as the Plastic Management Research
A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e P l a s t i c Wa s t eManagement Institute (PWMI) received
its current name in July of the following
year as operations expanded. For the last
40 years or so, PWMI has endeavored toresearch and develop technology for the
optimal processing and effective use ofplastic waste and to publicize its findings.
In addition, PWMI has changed into a
general incorporated association as a resultof Laws Related to the Reform of the
Public-Interest Corporations System(enacted in December 2008). As a resultof this change, PWMI’s objectives weren e w l y e s t a b l i s h e d i n A p r i l 2013 a s“surveying and researching the recyclingof plastic waste and contributing to a
reduction in environmental load by the
total recycling of plastic, and helping
plastic-related industries to expand theirbusiness soundly and contributing to thecreation of a society capable of sustainablegrowth.”application to carbon footprint systems,
etc. It also works to solve technical issues
so that the effective use of plastic waste
can be evaluated by LCA.
(2)Preparation of the Flowchart of Plastic
Products, Plastic Waste and Resource
Recovery and ongoing improvements to
its accuracy
PWMI strives to obtain a clear understanding of the entire lifecycle of plastic
from its production stage to its disposal
and R&R and to prepare and provide ahighly accurate flowchart of this process.
(3)Support of environmental education
PWMI continues to hold instructor
training courses and on-site classes andworks to raise the level of consciousness
in society regarding the usefulness ofplastic. In addition to holding on-siteclasses on plastic R & R at primary andmiddle schools especially in Japan’s Kanto
region, PWMI will honor as much as
possible requests for instructor training
courses in line with new teachingguidelines and for lectures at universities
specializing in environmental science.

Business Content

Members (as of June 2023)(1)Survey and research the generation,
recycling, and disposal of plastic waste
and promote the appropriate use of plastic
waste through various means including
techniques for evaluating environmental
load(2)Support the education and study of therecycling of plastic and plastic waste andengage in related public relations activities(3)Interface and collaborate with domestic
and foreign institutions in the plastic andplastic-waste industries

Regular members: 18 corporations and 3
organizations
Supporting members: 3 organizations
Regular members
Asahi Kasei Corp.
Dow-Mitsui Polychemicals Co. Ltd.
General Meeting
Auditors
ENEOS NUC Corporation
Japan Polyethylene Corporation
Japan Polypropylene Corporation
Board of Directors
JNC Corporation
Kaneka Corporation
Maruzen PetrochemicalSteering
Co., Ltd.
Committee
Prime Polymer Co., Ltd.
PS Japan Corporation
Committee on
Shin Dai-Ichi Vinyl Corporation
General Affairs
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Chemical Co.,Committee
Ltd. on Surveys
and Research
SunAllomer Ltd.
Taiyo Vinyl Corporation
Committee on Public
Tokuyama Sekisui Co., Ltd.Relations andEducational Support
Tosoh Corp.
Ube-Maruzen Polyethylene Co., Ltd.

Activities
The three core activities of PWMI aresummarized below.
(1)Provision of life cycle assessment(LCA) base data and LCAevaluation ofrecycling & recovery(R&R)technologies
PWMI provides scientific and highreliability data for widespread use byrelated industries and general citizens for

Plastic Waste Management InstituteWebsite: https://www.pwmi.or.jp
January 2024

10

(Trade organizations)Japan Petrochemical Industry Association
The Japan Plastics Industry Federation
Vinyl Environmental Council
Supporting members
Japan PET Bottle Association
Japan Expanded Polystyrene Association
Japan PVC Environmental Affairs Council
Directors
Chairman:Iwata Keiichi
Vice-Chairman:Kuwada Mamoru
Executive Director:Tsuchimoto Ichiro
Directors: 11
Auditors: 2

Organization
General Meeting

Auditors

Cha

Vice-C

Board of Directors

Executiv
Steering Committee

Secreta
Committee on
General Affairs
Committee on Surveys
and ResearchCommittee on Public
Relations andEducational Support

ChairmanVice-Chairman

Executive Director

Secretary General
General Affairs and Public
Relations Department

Planning Department

Surveys and Research
Department

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Tel: +81-3-6810-9146, Fax: +81-3-5643-8447