TBMand NAC, the home delivery water company "Cricla,"remanufacture used empty bottles into ballpoint pens through mechanical recycling

-Using Maar recycled materials procurement to visualize traceability information in preparation for DPP compliance -

TBM Co., Ltd., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Nobuyoshi Yamasaki; hereinafter referred to as TBM) has teamed up with NAC Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Hiroshi Yoshimura; hereinafter referred to as NAC) to collect and recycle empty bottles of "Curikura," a home delivery water service operated by NAC, and remanufacture them into ballpoint pens through mechanical recycling. The ballpoint pens produced this time are scheduled to be donated to educational support facilities in Japan and overseas.

---

​Background

TBM has been engaged in operating one of Japan's largest mechanical recycling plants, collecting plastics and selling recycled plastics through collaboration with over 100 recycling partners nationwide, planning products using the recycled material "CirculeX," and selling recycled plastics overseas, mainly in Southeast Asia. The matching business for recycled materials, which has been underway since 2021, is currently generating annual trading results of 34,000 tons.

NAC, which develops the safe, secure and delicious home delivery water "Curikura", has adopted "sustainable bottles" since the beginning of the business and has been working towards an environmentally friendly circular society by reusing instead of disposing of them. In addition, bottles and caps that are damaged during the reuse process are not discarded, but are remade into original rulers and my bottles.

■ Overview of the initiative

As NAC was considering expanding its lineup of recycled material products, they recognized TBM's track record in product planning using recycled materials, including "CirculeX," and their efforts in material circulation, leading to the collaboration. TBM will collect and recycle empty bottles, and through mechanical recycling, produce ballpoint pens that will be donated to educational support facilities in Japan and overseas.

Furthermore, in this mechanical recycling initiative, TBM provided a procurement platform for recycled materials and raw materials called "Maar Recycled Material Procurement," which provides a visualization function for items conforming to DPP*. This visualized the recycled material content and traceability from raw materials to remanufacturing, thereby appealing to consumers about environmental friendliness and circularity with an eye toward future DPP compliance.

Going forward, TBM and NAC will strengthen their collaboration to plan high-added-value recycled material products.

・

---

■ Comments from the person in charge

Taro Anzai, General Manager, Product Department, NAC Corporation

"We have been working on reusing and recycling water bottles as part of our efforts to realize a sustainable society. This time, TBM, a company that is working to promote material circulation with high aspirations, responded quickly from proposing the plan to collecting and remanufacturing, which made it possible to recycle water bottles into ballpoint pens. We believe that turning something that would have been thrown away into a valuable item leads to consideration for the environment and contributions to a sustainable future. We hope to continue collaborating in the future so that this initiative can spread around the world and make our earth a more beautiful place."

　

・ TBM Co., Ltd. material circulation Business Headquarters Maar Business Department Noriyasu Oshima

"We are very pleased to be able to work with NAC on material circulation. This time, we helped them create valuable ballpoint pens from water server bottles that would have been thrown away. Containers that were once used are reborn in a different form. We will continue to work on valuable activities so that material circulation can become the norm, toward the realization of a sustainable society."