Gunze plans to complete the transformation of its core plastic film business, Moriyama Factory, into a Circular FactoryTM (Resource Recycling Factory) later this month.

The transformed factory, located at 163 Morikawahara-cho, Moriyama-city in Shiga, Japan, will have a total floor area of 10,786m2 and will manufacture shrinkable film for labels.

The factory's primary energy source will be large solar and water resources.

Furthermore, the advanced-technology-equipped facility will use discarded products and raw materials as new resources in the traditional linear system of "Take (resource extraction), Make (production), and Waste (disposal)."

Gunze believes that this will result in a manufacturing system that recycles resources while producing no plastic waste or emissions.

To achieve a fully recyclable raw material commercialization process, the company will set up technologies to separate and recycle various material types. A variety of multilayer films, including nylon and PET, will be separated and recycled at the new recycling facility.

Gunze intends to build another recycling centre in addition to the Circular Factory by 2026.

Gunze stated that easily recyclable mono-materials are currently in demand. However, the company "will promote the use of this separation and regeneration technology to take advantage of our core competence, which is multilayering technology."

According to the company, by 2027, 50% of the raw materials used in its plastics will be recycled, with plans to increase that to 100% by 2030.