Tokyo selects three community projects to boost resource recovery

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Environmental Public Service Corporation have selected three projects under the second open call for their social implementation initiative promoting a circular economy. The selected projects will receive municipal support to test and deploy practical resource circulation models within the region.

The first selected project focuses on testing consumer acceptance of chemically recycled plastics in food packaging. Led by PS Japan Corporation, a joint venture subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Corporation and Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., the project collaborates with a Tokyo-headquartered food manufacturer to serve food in containers made from chemically recycled polystyrene at public events in Tokyo. It gathers empirical data on consumer perceptions through attendee surveys, and aims to reduce psychological resistance to recycled food contact materials while raising public awareness about the safety, technical integrity, and environmental significance of chemical recycling.

The second project addresses workplace plastic waste separation through interactive technology. Environmental education company Gomi no Gakko Inc., in partnership with local commercial facilities, ATURAERU, and SolidLab, will install sensor-equipped awareness devices in Tokyo offices. These units use visual animations on integrated monitors to guide workers on proper waste separation. Internal sensors measure disposed plastic by weight and display real-time estimates of associated cost savings and carbon emission reductions. The collected plastic material is subsequently remanufactured into novelty items and returned to the office, creating a closed-loop system designed to strengthen employee engagement through direct feedback.

The third initiative focuses on institutional resource efficiency across higher education facilities. Managed under the trade name ShareWel University Network, in partnership with universities and Thibetanus Co., Ltd., the project seeks to establish a standardised resource sharing platform. The scheme addresses the routine disposal of reusable furniture and research equipment caused by faculty retirements and laboratory relocations. Building on an existing sharing service established at the University of Tokyo, the project scales operational frameworks to create a transferable resource circulation model for universities across Tokyo and the surrounding metropolitan area.

These three pilot projects demonstrate a shift in local governance toward addressing specific behavioral and operational bottlenecks in resource recovery.