Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho") announced today that recycled plastic derived from ASR (Automotive Shredder Residue) manufactured by its Group company K.K. Planic ("Planic") has been adopted for the first time in a Toyota vehicle in Japan for the front fender seal of the Crown "Sport."

Crown "Sport"

Planic, whose shareholders are Toyota Tsusho and Kojima Sangyo Co., Ltd. (a Kojima Industries Corporation Group company), is one of the largest^*1 recycled plastic manufacturing companies in Japan. The raw materials for the manufacture of recycled plastic used by Planic are collected from Toyota Tsusho Group company TOYOTA METAL CO., LTD.^*2, which is engaged in the automotive recycling business, as well as from ASR recycling facilities and home appliance recycling plants throughout Japan.

As it is difficult to sort collected plastics that include ASR-derived plastics by material, it is hard to conduct Car to Car recycling, which requires high quality, so the plastics have mainly been incinerated (thermal recycling). Amid these circumstances, Planic has become the first company in Japan to introduce advanced gravity separation technology and equipment, which has been put to practical use in Europe, enabling the manufacture of high-quality recycled plastic and Car to Car recycling. This has become a major strength of the company.

By promoting Car to Car recycling using ASR-derived plastics, Toyota Tsusho and Planic will contribute to the development of a circular economy.

*1 Volume of compound pellets manufactured at a single plant
*2 TOYOTA METAL has achieved an ASR recycling rate of nearly 100%, and its plastic recovery rate is among the highest in Japan. The shareholders of the company are Toyota Tsusho, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Aichi Steel Corporation.