P&G Japan Launches "JOY" Made with Recycled Ocean Plastic Bottle Material
Procter & Gamble Japan held a press conference at its Tokyo office in Chuo Ward on November 6 to announce the launch (early November) of "JOY Ocean Plastic," a kitchen detergent made using recycled plastic waste collected from Japanese coastlines as raw material for its bottles, as part of its efforts to reduce ocean plastic pollution, a global environmental issue. The company also outlined its initiatives for a sustainable future.
Over 8 million tons of plastic waste flow into the world's oceans annually. By 2050, the total weight of this plastic is projected to exceed the total weight of fish, with 80% of this plastic waste originating in Asia.
As a countermeasure, the company has implemented an initiative to reuse plastic waste washed ashore on Japanese beaches in domestic household products.
The "JOY Ocean Plastic" bottles incorporate approximately 25% recycled plastic—the maximum amount that ensures durability as a bottle. This initial production run will see 550,000 bottles manufactured and sold. According to the company, this represents the world's largest production volume of ocean plastic-based products within a single country and marks the company's first such initiative in Asia.
President Stanislav Vesela introduced the company's global activities under its long-term vision "Ambition 2030" to contribute to environmental conservation as the world's largest consumer goods manufacturer. Regarding its particular focus on reducing ocean plastic, he stated, "We aim to make all our product packaging recyclable or reusable and achieve zero plastic waste entering the ocean."
He further emphasized, "Plastic should not exist in the ocean, nor should it persist in the environment. We must drastically reduce plastic waste through waste management and recycling." He expressed confidence that this approach, which handles the entire process domestically, is innovative.
Eric Kawabata, Regional Manager for TerraCycle Japan and Asia, who is collaborating on the project as a recycling expert, commented, "Conducting everything domestically—from collecting ocean plastic to sorting, cleaning, processing the material, and manufacturing containers—was challenging, including cost considerations. Solving problems while working with various partners was difficult, but it was meaningful in proving it was achievable."
JOY Brand Manager Zong Xiaofan explained the bottle manufacturing process.
"While we've used conventional recycled plastic as bottle material before, this marks our first-ever attempt in Asia Pacific to use ocean plastic, which is notoriously difficult to recycle due to degradation. Furthermore, within our global initiatives, this production volume is the largest worldwide, and we were committed to completing the entire project domestically. 550,000 bottles may be a small step, but we hope it sparks even a little more sustainable consumption," he stated.
Related article:Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and P&G Create Podiums from Recycled Plastic[June 14, 2019]
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