Demonstration of Chemical Recycling for Plastic Waste from Construction Sites

Six companies—Kajima Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Nippon Express Co., Ltd. (a group company of NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS, INC.), Refinverse Group Inc., Aozora Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation—have completed the 'Demonstration Project for Chemical Recycling of Plastic Waste from Construction Sites,' which was selected as a project under the Ministry of the Environment's 'FY2025 Support Project for Forming Advanced Social Implementation Models for Plastic Resource Circulation.' Currently, most plastic waste from construction sites is disposed of through thermal recovery, incineration, or landfill, making it a challenge to improve the recycling rate. In this project, the six companies built a reverse supply chain that applies chemical recycling technology to convert waste plastic into oil for reuse. They evaluated environmental and economic performance and confirmed that it is possible to improve the recycling rate of construction plastic waste and reduce CO2 emissions.