Industry leaders collaborate on closed-loop recycling of salad dressing caps in Japan

Refinverse, Mitsubishi Chemical, Toyo Seikan Group, Kewpie, Kasumi, and Kashima City are partnering to launch a closed-loop recycling project of salad dressing caps in Japan.

The Pla-relay Project is the first circular recycling packaging project in Japan. It combines expertise from the local government, a waste collecting company, a chemical manufacturer, a packaging manufacturer, a food manufacturer, and a supermarket.

During the pilot, schools in Kashima City can research plastic resources, tour companies’ plants, and participate in recycling education programs. 

Six-stage circularity 

The six parties involved will pass plastic along to the next partner at various stages of its lifecycle, resulting in plastic caps and plugs continuously leaving and entering the market. 

Refinverse will be responsible for collecting and pretreating salad dressing caps and inner plugs from schools in Kashima City, Japan. Mitsubishi Chemical will then convert the pretreated caps into raw materials, which are then turned into plastic resins. 

Toyo Seikan Group subsidiary Mebius Packaging will mold the plastic resin into caps and plugs for Kewpie salad dressing bottles. Finally, supermarket Kasumi will sell the product back into the market. 

Kewpie salad dressing bottles that include recycled caps should be available by the summer of 2025. 

Future plans

The companies involved plan to publish a “validation report on the closed-loop recycling of plastic packaging” by March 2026 based on issues and feedback obtained throughout the project. 

The six parties will identify matters such as the required quality and quantity of waste plastics, recycling issues, necessary certifications, cost, and how to market products made from recycled materials to consumers. 

Developments in circulatory 

Circular supply chains in the packaging industry allow consumers and companies to engage with environmentally aware practices. 

Recently, the NGO Clean Rivers has joined Project Stop, an initiative to establish a circular waste management system across the district of Banyuwangi, Indonesia. Co-founded by the Austrian plastics manufacturer Borealis and the UK sustainability service Systemic, Project Stop has been implemented in collaboration with Indonesian national and local governments and municipalities.