Menicon Co., Ltd. (Head Office: 21-19, Aoi 3, Naka-ku, Nagoya; Director, President and CEO: Koji Kawaura) announces that its “1Case Project,” a company-led initiative to collect and recycle used contact lens blisters (single-use plastic containers), has been granted the “New Plastic Technology Award” in the FY2026 Resource Circulation Technology and System Award hosted by the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry.
The Resource Circulation Technology and System Award recognizes advanced technologies, products, businesses, and initiatives that contribute to the reduction of resource and energy consumption, promotion of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) initiative, and other efforts aimed at transitioning to a circular economy. The Resource Circulation Technology and System Award aims to promote the effective use of resources, reduction of environmental impact, and establishment of a sound material cycle society.
The New Plastic Technology Award was introduced this year to recognize businesses and initiatives that employ innovative technologies, societal frameworks, and product development to promote advanced and sophisticated resource circularity.
Since 2024, Menicon has been researching technologies and systems for recycling polypropylene (PP), a plastic material used in the production and distribution of contact lenses, into high-quality recycled material using post-industrial material and used contact lens blisters. Although the number of discarded contact lens blisters is expected to increase with the growing disposable contact lens market, only a small percentage of the total amount is collected for limited use. Therefore, their effective utilization is a common challenge across industries.
Menicon launched the “1Case Project” in 2024 as part of the “Development of Circular Economy System,” a project in the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) led by the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. This project has been focused on developing scientific and sociological approaches to the recycling contact lens blisters by reusing materials and securing collection routes for high-quality resources.
The research involved chemical evaluation and mechanical properties on contact lens blisters of over 100 brands distributed in Japan. We utilized the synchrotron radiation facility NanoTerasu to analyze the causes of differences in material properties and used a self-organizing map to systematize the trends of the properties and accumulate the basic data necessary for recycling.
Contact lens blisters are colorless, odorless, and made of a single material, PP. These characteristics make them potentially suitable for a wide range of applications, such as automotive components. They are also highly evaluated as recycled materials in the “Recycled Materials Databank” developed under the SIP project and the “Industry-Government-Academia Consortium for Building a Recycled Plastic Market for Automobiles” led by the Ministry of the Environment.
Meanwhile, to facilitate the collection of contact lens blisters, we have been engaged in sociological research to encourage users to bring used blisters to our company, retailers, local governments, general companies, and schools. This research also focuses on the design and verification of the collection process, to expedite future social implementation.
We received the New Plastic Technology Award in recognition of our efforts to verify the collection process for used contact lens blisters from our products through our stores and other touchpoints, and to demonstrate the potential for reusing high-quality PP with a nearly uniform composition. Although these efforts are at their initial stage, primarily aimed at verifying operational feasibility, they have been highly praised for anticipating the development of a system encompassing the collection and reuse of the high-demand PP. We will continue to work on the establishment and commercialization of further methods.
Under the slogan “New Vision of ‘Miru’ for the World” in the Medium-term Management Plan “Vision 2030,” Menicon will further drive resource circularity and other initiatives to reduce environmental impact, thereby contributing to achieving a sustainable society.
◆ About the FY2026 Resource Circulation Technology and System Award
Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry
https://www.jemai.or.jp/english/index.html