The Pigeon Group is promoting efforts to realize a circular society in order to “leave a rich Earth for the future of babies born tomorrow.”
Baby Nursing Bottle Recycling
Among the many baby products available, nursing bottles are often used from the earliest days after a child’s birth, and family members can feel attached to them even after they are no longer needed. We are pursuing companywide resources recycling products to allow us to accept cherished nursing bottles that have served their purpose from our customers and reuse these resources by remaking them into new forms. We are also continually working to reduce plastic waste.
Baby Nursing Bottle Recycling (Singapore)
In Singapore, we have set a target of collecting 50,000 used baby nursing bottles by 2023, and since 2019 have been collecting and recycling used baby nursing bottles, regardless of brand. Collection spaces have been set up in various locations across Singapore, including stores, daycare centers, and community centers, and customers who bring in their baby nursing bottles will receive a discount on a Pigeon brand nursing bottle. By the end of 2023, we had collected a total of 65,496 nursing bottles*, achieving our target. Going forward, we will continue our activities with the target of collecting more than 15% of the annual sales volume of wide Neck nursing bottles sold by Pigeon Singapore Pte. Ltd. by 2030.
*Calculated based on the weight of one 160 ml nursing bottle made of PPSU (polyphenylsulfone).
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©House on the Hill
At the Baby Fair held in April 2024, original name tags were made using the collected baby nursing bottles and given as gifts to customers who recycled their used nursing bottles and purchased Pigeon brand nursing bottles and Natural Botanical Skin Care Series products. 250 name tags were given away to customers over the course of three days. In addition, for each Pigeon brand nursing bottle sold at a discount during the Baby Fair, 2 SGD (equivalent to approximately 230 yen in Japanese yen) was donated to Smile Asia, an organization that supports babies with cleft lip and/or palate. The cumulative sales volume reached 1,993 bottles, and the total donation amounted to 3,986 SGD (equivalent to approximately 460,000 yen in Japanese yen).
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Original name tags made from collected baby nursing bottles
Baby Nursing Bottle Recycling (China)
In China, we have been collecting and recycling used PPSU (polyphenylsulfone) nursing bottles from customers from 2021. As of June 2024, nursing bottle collection boxes have been installed at 26 baby product specialty stores in China to accept used nursing bottles. In addition to in-store sales, we also collect used nursing bottles through our e-commerce website, and by the end of December 2023, we had collected a total of approximately 67,000 nursing bottles*. The collected nursing bottles are transformed into meal trays and flower pots that can be used by children when they grow up, and are provided to customers as gifts.
*Calculated based on the weight of one 160 ml nursing bottle made of PPSU (polyphenylsulfone).
Baby Nursing Bottle Recycling (Japan)
There are two types of baby nursing bottles: plastic and heat-resistant glass. In Japan, there is no system for recycling plastic by type, and heat-resistant glass nursing bottles are made of a special type of glass, so they are generally treated as "non-burnable waste" rather than "recyclable waste." For these reasons, the recycling of nursing bottles in Japan has not progressed. Therefore, in collaboration with Akachan Honpo Co., Ltd., local governments, and partner companies such as Pantech Corporation, which mainly handles the total production of plastic recycling, we are working to collect and recycle nursing bottles that are no longer in use at home.
Baby Nursing Bottle Recycling Process
1.Collection location
Collection boxes have been set up in approximately 137 locations (as of July 2024), including the Pigeon Corporation headquarters building, nursery schools operated by Pigeon Hearts Corporation, all Akachan Honpo stores, and Hitachi-Omiya City related facilities, to accept baby nursing bottles from customers.
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A collection box installed at the Pigeon Corporation headquarters building
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A collection box installed at the Akachan Honpo store
2.Collection Results
The total number of baby nursing bottles collected has reached 17,049 by the end of May 2024. Please note that the number of baby nursing bottles collected does not include nipples, hoods, or caps; it only counts the number of bottle.
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Collected baby nursing bottles (left) and caps (right)
3.Recycling after collection
The baby nursing bottles we receive from customers are separated by material, recycled, and reborn as part of the raw materials for new products. In addition, from March 2023, we also started a “circular manufacturing" initiative in which some of the collected heat-resistant glass nursing bottles are used as raw materials to be reborn as new nursing bottles.
To raise awareness of baby nursing bottle recycling
We are also working to raise awareness of our activities in order to raise awareness of nursing bottle recycling among more customers, related companies, and local governments, and to promote increased collection and recycling efforts. In June 2024, we collaborated with Akachan Honpo Co., Ltd. to hold an awareness event called “Recycling baby nursing bottles passes on the baton of childcare.“ We invited families who have graduated from nursing bottles and expectant mothers to the Grand Tree Musashikosugi Smile Square in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where we explained the progress of our activities so far and our outlook for the future. We also held a nursing bottle graduation ceremony and presented expectant mothers with maternity marks made from some of the plastic nursing bottles that we had collected. After the event, a total of 39 expectant mothers and fathers in attendance had the opportunity to try making their own original maternity marks in the workshop space. Nursing bottles used by babies were transformed into maternity marks, which were then passed on as a baton for child-rearing, in order to raise awareness of recycling.
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Maternity mark made from materials partially extracted from plastic baby nursing bottles
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Collaboration with companies and local governments in recycling baby nursing bottles
The baby bottle recycling activity is being carried out with the cooperation of various companies and local governments. In Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, not only Pigeon brand baby bottles but also baby bottles of other brands are being collected, contributing to the promotion of sustainable manufacturing throughout society. Five baby bottle brand owners have agreed to this project, and baby bottles from each company are being collected in Kawasaki City. This is the first initiative in Japan to collect and recycle baby bottles regardless of brand. Pigeon is participating in the Kawasaki Plastic Recycling Project and Decarbonization Action MizonoKuchi, both of which are run by Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and will work with each partner company to promote baby bottle recycling.
In addition, together with the Ryuhyo Glass Museum, operated by Gio Co., Ltd., we are conducting a demonstration experiment to recycle heat-resistant glass baby nursing bottles into heat-resistant cups, and have begun serving hot drinks in the heat-resistant cups at the cafe attached to the Ryuhyo Glass Museum.
Paper Package Upcycling (Japan - Pigeon Home Products)
Pigeon Home Products Corporation (PHP) installed collection boxes at its own plant and a public facility in Fuji City, where consumers can deposit used paper packages from selected Pigeon toiletries, including Pure baby laundry detergent and baby soap. These packages will then be upcycled into notepads, picture books, and other items. (“Upcycling” is when an old product is reborn as a new and different product with new added value.)
Furthermore, PHP will offer school visits to teach about recycling paper packages, hold events where participants can actually experience upcycling paper packages, and explain the systems through which paper resources can be used in a circular fashion, promoting awareness of recycling among consumers.The Pigeon Group will continue to work with companies and local governments to collect and recycle baby nursing bottles and paper containers that have previously been treated as waste, thereby reducing plastic and glass waste and contributing to the realization of a circular society.
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