OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD. (Head office: Tennoji-ku, Osaka City; President: Matsuguchi Tadashi), a core company of the OSP Group and a one-stop manufacturer of stickers, labels, Carton Package, and promotional tools, has joined the Japan Earth Conscious Labeling Association (J-ECOL), a general incorporated association that promotes the recycling of used release paper from stickers and labels.

URL: https://www.j-ecol.or.jp/

Stickers and labels are indispensable in our lives and in corporate business activities as a way to add information to things. However, the paper (release paper) that protects the adhesive part of the label becomes unnecessary after use, but due to its structure, it is difficult to use it as a papermaking material, and many of them are not effectively used as resources. As we move towards a circular economy, we will promote the effective use of resources and contribute to reducing the environmental burden so that cheap and convenient stickers and labels can be used in a sustainable society.

■J-ECOL activities

We will work beyond the boundaries of each company to build a resource circulation model that brings together all companies involved in the value chain (procurement, manufacturing, sales, and collection). Specifically, we will act as an intermediary between companies that provide used release paper (companies that use labels) and recycling companies to support resource circulation. To achieve this, we plan to hold a promotion subcommittee and a technical subcommittee. The promotion subcommittee will promote the recycling of release paper together with member companies, while the technical subcommittee will consider release paper that is easy to recycle, propose the use of recycled pulp extracted from release paper, and in the future, consider horizontal recycling, where used release paper is turned back into release paper.

■Release paper Resource circulation diagram

As of September 15, 2023, member companies (in alphabetical order)

• ①Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

• ②Yamada Yoji Shoten Co., Ltd.

• ③Japan Pulp and Paper Company, Ltd., Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

• ④Avery Dennison Japan Co., Ltd., Oji TAC Co., Ltd., Lintec Corporation

• ⑤ OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD., Ltd., Sato Corporation, DNP Data Techno Co., Ltd., Diplo Co., Ltd., Toppan Infomedia Co., Ltd., Toppan Edge Co., Ltd.

■Main activities of the Japan Label Recycling Association (J-ECOL)

(1) Promoting the recycling of used release paper
Formulation of waste separation guidelines and awareness raising activities by members
Consulting on recycling used release paper, matching recycling companies with label user companies

(2) Support for establishing recycling technologies
Design of release paper that is easy to recycle, and assistance to encourage recycling

(3) Visualization and information dissemination of recycling status
Visualization of environmental impact and dissemination of information on the progress of dissemination activities

■ OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD. Company Profile

• Company name: OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD.

• Address: 1-8 Obasecho-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

• Representative: Matsuguchi Tadashi

• Founded: 1927

• Business description: Manufacturing and sales of stickers, labels, film products, Carton Package, and sales of labeling systems

• URL: https://www.osp.co.jp/

■OSP Holdings Company Profile

• Company name: OSP HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

• Address: 6-8 Ajihara Honmachi Tennoji-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

• Representative: Matsuguchi Tadashi

• Founded: 1969

• Business description: Business planning and management of the corporate group and related operations

• URL: https://www.osp-holdings.co.jp/

Founded in 1927, the OSP Group is a comprehensive packaging company with a total of 15 companies (9 domestic and 6 overseas), and has 18 production bases nationwide to fulfill its mission of social infrastructure, mainly food distribution. Since its founding, the company has expanded its business scope in response to changes in the times, such as customer needs and the social environment. Currently, the company provides products and services that enrich society and the lives of customers through the planning, design, and manufacturing of stickers and labels, Carton Package, and promotional materials. In order to achieve high quality and stable supply, the group also operates in a wide range of areas, from material procurement, development and manufacturing of sticker and label printing base paper and printing peripherals, to designing and research and development of labeling systems.