Renewable plastics connecting people through smiles
- RECYCLE TO RENEW -
People raise their cups to each other throughout the grounds of a festival.
At first glance, the cups filled with drinks in their hands appear to be perfectly ordinary plastic cups.
These cups used at the urban music festival CENTRAL MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT FESTIVAL 2026 actually hold new potential for chemical recycling. The cups were made with mass-balance-approach* renewable plastics. Their debut at the festival was a bold step to push forward a cycle from material selection to recycling based on these renewable plastics, backed by a desire "not to compromise on fun or the environment." Working toward mechanisms for sustainably reducing environmental impacts while also having fun will shine a light on the future of environmentally conscious materials and entertainment.
*This is a method of allocating the characteristics of specific raw materials, such as biomass resources, to a portion of the product based on the input amount of those materials when they are mixed with non-specific raw materials during the distribution and processing stages from raw materials to products.
My Seeds of Emotion — Where inspiration takes root
Hisaoki Oba
Sustainability Working Group
Mechanical Strategy Committee Group
Technology Strategy Committee
Sony Group Corporation
Moeno Tanaka
CENTRAL Executive Committee
My Seeds of Emotion
Precisely because entertainment spaces are meant to be fun, I believe there is great value in creating a system that allows people to participate in resource circulation without taking away from the experience. Going forward, I hope we can continue these efforts and improve them over time.
Kasumi Matsumoto
CENTRAL 2026 CENTRAL Resource Hub Staff
My Seeds of Emotion
I believe that expanding initiatives like this to festivals and events can help address the global waste management issue. Having the opportunity to speak with attendees also reminded me of the importance of human connection, and it strengthened my desire to continue engaging in activities like this in the future.
Yosuke Higashino
Gominogakko Inc.
Board Member
My Seeds of Emotion
Promoting resource circulation at urban festivals is meaningful work because it has the potential to reduce environmental impact while engaging large, diverse audiences in sustainable practices. Drawing on insights from last year's data, we are committed to continuous improvement and open dialogue with attendees, with the goal of expanding this approach across the music festival industry.
Kohei Matsumoto
Manager
Ecological Material Team
Basic Petrochemicals Dept.,
Basic Materials Div.
Mitsubishi Corporation
My Seeds of Emotion
Seeing firsthand how used cups are sorted on site made me keenly aware of how labor-intensive recycling can be, and how much it relies on people’s hands-on efforts. This initiative is made possible through the collaboration of many partners, and we hope to continue steadily expanding experiences where enjoyment and environmental responsibility can coexist.
Masahiko Okamura
Chief Executive Officer
Chemical Recycle Japan Co., Ltd.
My Seeds of Emotion
I realized that resource circulation is sustained not only by technology, but also by people’s passion and active participation. To protect our limited resources and pass on an environmentally harmonious society to future generations, we will continue to work closely with our supply chain partners to help build a sustainable future.
Sohei Takasago
Business Manager
Sales and Marketing Section
Chemical Recycle Japan Co., Ltd.
My Seeds of Emotion
Through hands-on participation in sorting waste alongside other stakeholders, I came to truly understand how challenging proper separation and collection can be. The experience reinforced how each individual action contributes to resource circulation, and it reminded me of the importance of being conscious about waste separation—not only as a company representative, but also as an ordinary citizen.
Sato Kota
Senior Specialist
Olefins Group
Basic Chemicals Sales Department
ENEOS Corporation
My Seeds of Emotion
When I actually held the cups at the venue and saw so many people using them, it brought me a great sense of joy. Moving forward, we hope to play a key role in cross-company collaboration through our role as a raw material supplier, and to contribute more broadly to solving social challenges.
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My Seeds of Emotion
Although it was challenging to produce cups made from renewable biomass sources within a short timeframe, we were able to make it happen by leveraging the foundation of an existing project. I believe materials have the power to change society, and I hope this cup is the first step toward creating new products that are both practical and sustainable.