JFE Engineering Corporation
J&T Recycling Corporation
East Japan Railway Company
JR East Environment Access Co. Ltd
J Circular System Corporation
JFE Steel Corporation

J Circular System Corporation (President: Sazo Nakamura, Headquarters: Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, hereinafter "J Circular System")1 has been constructing Japan's largest2 used plastic recycling facility (hereinafter "the Facility") at JFE Steel Corporation's East Japan Works Keihin District in Kawasaki City. Following the chemical recycling raw material production line that began operation in October 2024, the advanced sorting line*3 and all other lines have now been completed, and an inauguration ceremony was held on March 13 for the start of full-scale operations in April 2025.
The Facility has the capacity to process 200 tons per day of used plastics (both municipal and industrial waste), making it one of the largest in Japan, and performs integrated processing from sorting to recycling. It can accept unsorted used plastics collected by municipalities and businesses, promoting the recycling of used plastics that were previously incinerated due to sorting difficulties. The collected plastics are either materially recycled4 or chemically recycled5 according to their characteristics, and through collaboration with nearby recycling businesses, we aim to enhance resource circulation.
Recently, based on Article 33 of the Law for Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics (hereinafter "New Plastics Law"), Kawasaki City obtained certification from the Minister of Environment and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in December 2024 for a recycling plan developed in cooperation with a group*6 led by J Circular System. Fujisawa City obtained the same certification in January 2025, and discussions are currently underway with Ota Ward for certification. This is the first nationwide certification involving cooperation between multiple municipalities and multiple recycling businesses.
This certification enables the facility to recycle most of the used plastics collected as household waste from residents of these three municipalities.
J Circular System will accept both industrial used plastics from private businesses and household used plastics collected by municipalities under the New Plastics Law, manufacturing Recycled Plastic Material (RPM)*7 to meet various needs. Through this unique recycling system, we aim to be a leader in advancing plastic resource circulation and decarbonization, contributing to the realization of a sustainable recycling-based society.
*1 "Establishment of J Circular System Corporation" - Construction of Metropolitan Area's Largest Plastic Recycling Facility in Kawasaki Coastal Area
*2 According to project stakeholders
*3 A line that measures material composition, calorific value, and moisture content using technologies such as near-infrared analyzers and optical sorting, enabling high-precision sorting of different types of plastics based on measurement results
*4 The process of removing foreign matter and cleaning used plastics for reuse as raw materials in plastic products
*5 The process of chemically decomposing used plastics for reuse as industrial raw materials
*6 Representative Company: J Circular System Corporation
　Member Company: JFE Pla-Resource Corporation Role: Material Recycling
　Member Company: RESONAC Corporation Role: Chemical Recycling
*7 Recycled Plastic Material

■Ceremony Photos