TOKYO: Japanese trading house Itochu Corp. has developed a plastic bag partially recycled from marine plastic waste for the first time in Japan, it was learned on Tuesday.

The plastic bag, jointly developed with Sanipak Co., an Itochu subsidiary, has been put into practical use.

Marine plastic waste that washed up on the coast of the island of Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, was crushed and recycled into polyethylene materials.

There has been no previous case in which marine plastic waste has been recycled into a plastic bag, even overseas, according to the two companies.

A high level of technology is required to make a thin plastic bag from marine plastic waste. Sanipak, which operates a plant in Indonesia, succeeded in putting such bag into production.

Such waste has been increasing in volume worldwide, becoming a global environmental challenge. The problem is evident in Tsushima, where about 20,000 cubic meters of marine plastic waste washes up every year, the largest volume in the country.

Itochu and Sanipak will provide a total of about 100,000 plastic bags to the city of Tsushima and Nagasaki Prefecture as early as next spring.

Itochu has been working on making shampoo containers and other goods from marine plastic waste, with an aim of commercializing the recycling business.

The trading house is considering building a facility in Tsushima to crush the waste.

JIJI Press