Bio-plastic trading is active and orders are doubling - countering the ocean plastic problem

Last month Nihon Keizai Shimbun electronic version reported the following:

バイオプラ取引活発、受注倍増も　海洋プラ問題後押し

環境エネ・素材

2019/11/28 14:10日本経済新聞　電子版

植物を原料に使ったり、微生物が分解したりする合成樹脂「バイオプラスチック」の需要が国内で盛り上がってきた。廃プラスチックが海洋を汚染する「海洋プラスチック問題」に注目が集まったことが背景だ。国の「プラスチック資源循環戦略」も後押しとなり、過去のブームとは違う様相を示している。

「需要の伸びに応じて、生産能力を増やしたい」。岩谷産業が東京都内で27日開いた説明会。PET（ポリエチレンテレフタレート）樹脂の植物由来原料メーカー幹部らが講演した。日本の消費財や容器メーカー、商社から100人以上が集まり、バイオプラ市場の動きに耳を傾けた。

海洋プラスチック問題はプラスチックのゴミが海岸に打ち上げられたり、海洋生物の体内から見つかったりしたことをきっかけに、世界的に関心が高まった。日本のバイオプラ市場は2017年に4万トン程度とみられ、合成樹脂全体の1%にも満たない。市場規模は小さいが、環境は一変した。

「19年の販売量は18年から倍増しそう」。双日プラネットの環境サステナブル事業室の大八木潤担当部長はこう話す。同社はブラジル化学大手、ブラスケムが生産するバイオポリエチレンをアジア・オセアニア地域で販売する。

価格は1キロ200円台前半のポリエチレンに比べ2倍以上とされる。割高感から需要が伸びなかったが、環境意識の高まりで「社会のニーズが大きく変わった」（大八木担当部長）。石油由来のポリエチレンにバイオプラを混ぜた製品を作る需要家が増えている。

大日本印刷は植物原料のポリエチレンやPET樹脂を容器やフィルムに加工し、「バイオマテック」として消費財メーカーに提供する。販売量は直近5年で5倍以上になった。環境ビジネス推進室の柴田あゆみ氏は「この1年ぐらいは取引のなかったメーカーからも問い合わせが来るようになった」と話す。

6月に開いた20カ国・地域首脳会議（G20大阪サミット）では50年までに廃プラスチックによる新たな海洋汚染をゼロにする目標「大阪ブルー・オーシャン・ビジョン」を採択した。日本は5月に策定した「プラスチック資源循環戦略」で30年までにバイオプラを約200万トン導入する目標を決めた。レジ袋有料化に向けた議論も進む。

レジ袋や食器類といった使い捨ての利用を規制するのは世界的な潮流だ。欧州では生分解性プラやバイオマス由来の原料を混ぜることを義務付ける動きがある。独化学大手BASFの日本法人で生分解性ポリマー開発営業の寺田道弘マネージャーは「日本もレジ袋の有料化だけにとどまらない」とみる。同社は日本で生分解性プラの多用途への展開をにらむ。

今後は供給力の確保も課題になりそうだ。三菱ケミカルはタイの合弁会社で植物由来の原料を使った生分解性の「バイオPBS」を生産する。欧州を中心に販売してきたが、日本やアジアで販売が伸びてきた。サステイナブルポリマーズ事業部企画管理グループの柏谷一郎・グループマネジャーは「19年度は18年度比2倍以上の販売を見込む。フル生産が視野に入る」と話す。

バイオプラには何度かブームがあり、需要が伸びないために事業撤退した会社もあった。植物由来原料の安定した確保に加え、「これまでのブームとは違う」という確信がなければ設備増強に踏み切りにくい。乗り越えるべき課題は多い。（三輪恭久）

Translation

The demand for synthetic plastic "Bio-plastic", which used plants as raw materials and decomposed it by microorganisms, had increased in Japan. The background was a focus on the “Ocean plastic problem” where waste plastic had polluted the ocean. The country's “Plastic Resource Recycling Strategy” had also been boosted, showing an aspect different from the booms in the past.

In a briefing session held by Iwatani Corporation on the 27th in Tokyo, “I want to increase the production capacity according to demand growth” was said when executives of manufacturers of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) that used plant-derived raw material were giving their talks. More than 100 people from manufacturers of Japanese consumer goods and containers, together with trading companies people gathered to listen to the movement in the bio-plastics market.

The marine plastic problem had become a worldwide concern because plastic garbage was washed up on the shore, and was found in bodies of marine animals. Japan's bio-plastics market was expected to be around 40,000 tons in 2017 which was less than 1% of the total synthetic resin generated. Although the market size was small, the situation now had changed completely.

“Trading volume in 2019  will double that of 2018,” said Jun Oyagi, the Director of Sojitz Planet's Environmental Sustainable Business Office. In Asia and Oceania region this company sold bio polyethylene produced made by Brazilian chemical giant Braskem.

The price of polyethylene in the first half of the 200-yen level had more than double. Demand did not increase due to its high price, but “social needs have changed significantly” due to increased environmental awareness (Dai Yagi the Director in charge). The number of consumers for products made by mixing bio plastics with petroleum-derived polyethylene had increased.

Dai Nippon Printing was processing plant raw materials such as polyethylene and PET resin into containers and thin sheets, then supply them as Biomatech to consumer goods manufacturers. Trading volume increase was over five-fold in the last five years. Ayumi Shibata from the Environmental Business Promotion Office said “inquiries have been received from manufacturers that have not been trading for the past year or so.”

At the 20-country and region summit held in June (G20 Osaka Summit), the “Osaka Blue Ocean Vision” was adopted, it aimed to eliminate new marine pollution caused by waste plastic to zero by 2050. Japan had set a goal to introduce approximately 2 million tons of bio-plastics by 2030 in the “Plastic Resource Recycling Strategy” formulated in May. Discussions were also underway to introduce charges to plastic shopping bags.

Regulating the use of disposables such as plastic bags and tableware had been a global trend. In Europe, there was a movement to require the mixing of biomass with ingredients from biodegradable plastics. Handling the development and trading biodegradable polymer, Michihiro Terada who was the manager of a corporation in Japan under BASF that was a leading German chemical company, had envisioned that "Japan is not limited to implementing plastic bags payments". The company aimed to expand the use of biodegradable plastics in Japan.

In the future, securing supply capacity would be an issue. Mitsubishi Chemical was a Thai joint venture that produced biodegradable “Bio-PBS” using plant-derived raw materials. Trading had been focused on Europe, but sales had increased in Japan and Asia. “In FY2019 we expect to sell more than twice as much as that of FY2018,” said Ichiro Kajitani of the Planning & Management Group’s Sustainable Polymers Division.

There had been several booms in bio-plastics previously, and some companies withdrew their business because demand did not grow. In addition to securing plant-derived materials in a stable manner, it was difficult to take steps to increase equipment unless "it's not like the boom we have seen so far". There were many challenges to overcome.

          The current demand for environmentally friendly plastic products is surely different from all the previous booms as more government leaders have realized that plastics have polluted our environment, both on land and at sea.