TBM and Shimizu Corporation mechanical recycling waste plastic from construction sites and remanufacture traffic cones made from recycled materials

~Creating examples of collaboration through accelerator programs and promoting a circular economy originating from construction sites~

TBM Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Nobuyoshi Yamasaki that it has collaborated with Shimizu Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazuyuki Inoue; hereinafter referred to as Shimizu Corporation) to collect waste plastic from construction sites, recycle mechanical recycling, and remanufacture traffic cones made from recycled materials, with the aim of promoting a circular economy at construction sites.

　

■ Background

There is a strong demand for recycling waste materials, with the Plastic material circulation Promotion Act coming into effect in April 2022. However, in the recycling of waste plastic generated from construction sites, thermal recycling, in which waste is incinerated to recover thermal energy, is often undertaken, and mechanical recycling in which waste is recycled as a raw material for new products, has not progressed sufficiently.

　

TBM operates one of the largest mechanical recycling plants in Japan, collects plastics through collaboration with over 250 recycling partners nationwide, sells recycled plastics, plans products using the recycled material "CirculeX," and sells recycled plastics overseas, mainly in Southeast Asia. The matching business for recycled materials, which has been underway since 2021, has generated annual trading results of 34,000 tons in fiscal 2023.

　

■ Overview of the initiative

This initiative is a collaborative example that was made possible when TBM was selected as a participating company in Shimizu Corporation's 2022 accelerator program "SHIMZ NEXT."

(Click here for an overview of "SHIMZ NEXT") https://www.shimz.co.jp/company/about/news-release/2023/2022071.html 

　

As the first step, the leftover exterior wall protection film used at the construction site of a logistics facility (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture) built by Shimizu Corporation was collected and recycled at the Yokosuka Circular Factory, a recycling plant operated by TBM, to produce traffic cones made from the recycled materials. The 500 traffic cones produced through this mechanical recycling are being used as operating equipment for the completed facility and as materials for Shimizu's construction sites.

　

Going forward, TBM will work with Shimizu Corporation to promote mechanical recycling of various plastic waste and work to foster a circular economy originating from construction sites.