Page 44 - Plastics News March 2026
P. 44
COMPANY NEWS
MUFG PARTNERS WITH MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL AND
REFINVERSE FOR CIRCULAR OFFICE PLASTIC RECYCLING
UFG Bank has partnered with Mitsubishi As part of the collaboration, Refinverse will man-
Chemical Corporation and Refinverse age the collection and primary processing of the
MGroup to launch a proof-of-concept plastic waste, ensuring that it meets the specifi-
project aimed at establishing a circular system cations required for chemical recycling. The pro-
for recycling plastic waste generated in office ject also involves evaluating the efficiency of the
environments. The collaboration is intended to entire recycling chain, including waste collection,
promote resource circulation, reduce environ- transportation, and pre-processing steps.
mental impact, and support the transition to a
circular economy. Preliminary estimates from sustainability con-
sultancy Earth hacks & Co. suggest that the re-
The three organisations have signed a memoran- cycling initiative could reduce carbon dioxide
dum of understanding (MoU) to create a closed- emissions by more than 30% compared with
loop recycling scheme for commonly used of- conventional disposal methods. The participat-
fice plastics such as clear file folders, packaging ing companies plan to further quantify and com-
materials, and cushioning components that are municate the environmental benefits using Earth
typically discarded after use. Traditionally, most hacks’ Decarbo Score framework.
office plastics—apart from PET bottles—have
been treated through thermal recycling, which The project will also assess environmental per-
involves incineration with energy recovery but formance using life-cycle assessment (LCA)
does not retain the material value of the plastic. methods and study employee behaviour related
to waste sorting in order to improve collection ef-
Under the new initiative, plastic waste gener- ficiency. The demonstration project is expected
ated at the MUFG Bank Nihonbashi Annex in to show that plastics generated in office build-
Tokyo will be sorted, collected, and processed ings can be recycled into products of equivalent
into recycled raw materials under strict quality quality to those made from virgin materials.
standards. The recovered plastics will then un-
dergo chemical recycling at Mitsubishi Chemi- Since the completion of Mitsubishi Chemical’s
cal’s Ibaraki Plant, where they will be converted chemical recycling facility in July 2025, the com-
into oil. This oil will subsequently be used to pro- pany has been evaluating various types of plas-
duce polypropylene (PP) resin through Mitsubi- tic waste as potential feedstock for advanced
shi Chemical’s group company, Japan Polypro- recycling processes. Insights gained from the of-
pylene Corporation. The recycled PP will then be fice recycling pilot will help the partners explore
used to manufacture new products, beginning the possibility of expanding similar circular recy-
with employee ID card holders for MUFG Bank cling systems to other corporate offices, munici-
staff. palities, and regional networks.
44 PLASTICS NEWS March 2026
