There are two types of Ocean plastics.
One is plastic waste that has washed ashore after being discharged into the sea, referred to as "Ocean Plastic" (OP). These plastics have been discharged into the sea from other countries or locations and have drifted to different coastlines, carried by the waves. As a result, they have been battered by the waves, exposed to ultraviolet rays, and are heavily soiled and damaged plastics. Identifying the material is challenging, and collecting, sorting, cleaning, and recycling them requires significant time and cost.
The other type is plastic waste found inland within approximately 50km from the sea, known as "Ocean Bound Plastic" (OBP). These plastics have the potential to be discharged into the sea if not properly managed. However, they have not yet entered the sea. Compared to OP, they are less soiled and damaged, making sorting and recycling easier and more cost-effective. The definition of OBP also includes plastics that have been cleaned and sorted inside stores, facilities, and homes.
This photo is of the coastline in Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. About 50% of the washed-up waste is OP, costing approximately 280 million yen annually for its management. In Tsushima City, waste is disposed of by landfilling. However, if this continues at the current pace, there will be no space left for landfilling in the future.
We were devastated to learn that the beautiful coastline is polluted with trash.
Discussions on how to reuse OP are still limited. We realized that while many companies actively recycle OBP, the issue of OP remains unknown to many worldwide. We decided to take on the challenge of actively recycling OP.
From the vast amount of OP that washes ashore, we chose to recycle the "blue poly tanks" that drift to Tsushima City, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 annually. As we continue manufacturing and selling, once the blue poly tanks are depleted, we plan to select other ocean plastics in sequence for product development and sales. Our products incorporate 10% of the blue poly tank, which was the maximum ratio we could achieve.