Adachi Ward (Ward Mayor: Tsunetoshi Suzuki) and Tomra Systems Japan Asia Pacific (President: Trond Vårlid; "Tomra Japan") have entered into a contract as of July 5th, 2006 on the PET Bottle Collection Project using Reverse Vending Machines (RVM).

Under the agreement, Tomra Japan will install and operate 15 RVMs designed to issue incentives*1 at some supermarkets located in Adachi Ward jointly with Sumitomo Corp. (President: Motoyuki Oka; "Sumitomo") to collect PET bottles. Incentives will be issued by RVMs to ward citizens who help with PET bottle collection by bringing in PET bottles. The objective is to enhance citizens' awareness of recycling and promote PET bottle collection. The cost of running the project will be reimbursed by Adachi Ward depending on the quantity collected. PET bottles collected through RVMs will be used by Tomra Japan as a raw material for producing recycled products.

Adachi Ward intends to improve collection efficiency and reduce collection cost by introducing automatic collecting machines at some collection points in front of supermarkets and issuing incentives (eco points) to encourage ward citizens to participate. Citizens had found the current system of collecting PET bottles once a week at designated deposit points to be inconvenient, and thus the ward decided to adopt the PET bottle collection system jointly provided by Tomra Japan and Sumitomo to improve the existing PET bottle collection scheme that encourages citizens to participate while reducing the financial burden on the ward.

Before signing the contract with Adachi Ward, Tomra Japan had signed an agreement on developing the PET bottle collection project using automatic collecting machines in Japan with Tomra Systems ASA, Norway, headed by Amund Skarholt ("Tomra ASA") and Sumitomo. Tomra is the largest company in the RVM industry with over an 80% share of the world market; it has delivered over 50,000 RVMs in over 50 countries around the world with its strong bases in Europe and North America. It entered the Japanese market in 2001 and started reviewing the joint project with Sumitomo in 2004.

Tomra Japan and Sumitomo studied the effectiveness of PET bottle collection by means of RVMs at selected locations in Tokyo through the Eco Life Project*2 initiated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Eco Community Project*3 initiated by the Ministry of the Environment, and gathered data confirming that onsite separation and crushing of PET bottles by RVMs at collection points is an effective means to improve collection and transport efficiency, and that providing incentives, such as coupons or lots, to consumers who bring in beverage containers is a remarkably effective way to increase the quantity collected at each point.

Coinciding with the introduction of the system in Adachi Ward, Tomra Japan and Sumitomo intend to install 100 RVMs in front of selected supermarkets in various wards in Tokyo, including Nakano, Setagaya, Suginami, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Kita, as an initial investment to verify on a wider scale the system's ability to raise collection efficiency and reduce cost compared with the conventional system, in order to propose the system to local governments responsible for collecting beverage containers under the Container and Package Recycling Law.

Tomra and Sumitomo estimated a potential market for 25,000 RVMs in the Japanese market and aim to sell 2,000 RVMs with sales of 3 billion yen by 2009.


*1 Incentive (environment points)
Coupon or lots issued to consumers who participate in recycling through RVMs

*2 Eco Life Project
Project: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry FY2004 Circulating Network
Improvement Project
"Field Investigation using Automatic Collecting Machines, One of the Investigations
in Consumer Participatory Information Provision to be Studied"
Period: About 3 months between October 1, 2004 and March 1, 2005
Cooperation: METI, the Clean Japan Center
Co-sponsor: Shinjuku Ward
Cooperation: Adachi Ward, Shibuya Ward, Kanazawa-ku of Yokohama City, Commercial Street Promotion Union Harajuku-Omotesando Keyaki-kai, NPO Green Bird, Federation of Jingumae Residents' Associations, Federation of Sasazauka Residents' Associations,
Harajuku Area Cleaning Promotion Committee, and Hatagaya and Sasazuka Area Cleaning
Promotion Committee
Location:
Shinjuku Ward: Kitchen Court Kagurazaka, Southeastern Gate of Shinjuku Station
Shibuya Ward: Harajuku-Omotesando, Queens Isetan Sasazuka
Adachi Ward: Western Gate of Kita-senju Station, Life Takenotsuka
Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama City: Deiki Park, Uni Kanazawabunko

*3 Eco Community Project
Project: FY2005 Ministry of the Environment Recycling Society Forming Demonstration Project
"Project to Promote Reform of Consciousness on Collection of Food Containers in Major Cities"
Period: January to March 2006 (about 3 months)
Sponsor: Ecological Life and Culture Organization
Co-sponsor: Suginami Ward of Tokyo, Suginami Environment Network
Cooperator: Tobe Shoji Co., Ltd., Kyoei Sangyo Co., Ltd., Eco Support Co., Ltd., Seiyu Co., Ltd., Summit Inc., Inageya Co., Ltd.