Tokyu Department Store and Suntory Collaborate to Start "Bottle-to-Bottle" Horizontal Recycling

Suntory Beverage & Food Limited will collaborate with Tokyu Department Store Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, Tokyu Department Store) to launch a "bottle-to-bottle" horizontal recycling*1 program from Wednesday, April 1st. This initiative will collect used PET bottles from three commercial facilities operated by Tokyu Department Store—Tokyu Department Store Tama Plaza Store, Machida Tokyu Twins, and Hiyoshi Tokyu Avenue—and regenerate them into new PET bottles.

*1 Recycling that transforms used products into new products of the same type.

● Background of this initiative

The Suntory Group, guided by its purpose to "Create rich lives in harmony with people and nature, and aspire to the 'brilliance of human life'," has aimed to realize a sustainable society since its founding. Regarding PET bottles, the group is undertaking various initiatives with the goal of achieving "100% sustainability."

Tokyu Department Store, based on its corporate philosophy, actively engages in environmental conservation with all employees keeping in mind, "Hug the world, think about the global environment, and move forward into the future with a global perspective," fulfilling its corporate social responsibility through its business activities.

This initiative came about from the shared desire of both companies to "contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by circulating PET bottles, which have high recycling suitability and well-established recycling mechanisms, as a resource."

● About Tokyu Department Store

Tokyu Department Store operates department stores, shopping centers, and specialty stores primarily along the Tokyu Line, with Shibuya as its base, including Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs and Shibuya Tokyu Food Show. Leveraging the expertise cultivated in the department store business, each store enhances its unique shop lineup, product offerings, and services tailored to regional characteristics, while also creating new customer value and contributing to enriching the lives of local residents.

https://www.tokyu-dept.co.jp/

● Names and locations of target stores for this initiative

Name and location

Tokyu Department Store Tama Plaza Store

1-7 Utsukushigaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa

Machida Tokyu Twins

6-4-1 Haramachida, Machida-shi, Tokyo

Hiyoshi Tokyu Avenue

2-1-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa

Starting with the introduction of PET bottles made from 100% recycled materials in the domestic soft drink industry in 2012*2, the Suntory Group has continuously advanced technological innovation over many years, including developing the world's first "FtoP Direct Recycling Technology"*3 that reduces CO2 emissions more than conventional methods, actively implementing and promoting "bottle-to-bottle" horizontal recycling.

Furthermore, addressing the challenge of insufficient PET bottle sorting outside the home, the group has focused on awareness campaigns to encourage "clean sorting even outdoors." This includes producing TV commercials and web videos that start from the moment a PET beverage is finished, demonstrating how to properly sort caps and labels outdoors, and conducting outreach classes at elementary, junior high schools, and commercial facilities.

We will continue to promote activities toward achieving the goal of "100% sustainable PET bottles" stated in the "Plastic Basic Policy" formulated in 2019—to "eliminate the new use of fossil-derived raw materials by using recycled or plant-derived materials for all PET bottles globally by 2030"—and realizing a sustainable society.

*2 As mechanical recycling

*3 Jointly developed with Kyoei Sangyo Co., Ltd. and three other companies

▽ Customer inquiries regarding this matter

Suntory Customer Center https://www.suntory.co.jp/customer/

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