Menicon Co.,Ltd.'s 1Case Project, which promotes the collection and recycling of used contact lens cases, received the New Plastic Technology Award at the FY2026 Resource Circulation Technology and System Awards hosted by the Industrial Environment Management Association. The project is said to have been recognized for its work to improve the quality of recycled materials and verify the practical implementation of collection and acceptance systems.
Menicon Co.,Ltd. announced that its 1Case Project, which promotes the collection and recycling of used contact lens cases, received the New Plastic Technology Award at the Resource Circulation Technology and System Awards. The award recognized efforts to turn materials primarily made of PP into recycled materials and build the data infrastructure to support that process.
The awards recognize technologies and products that contribute to reducing resource and energy consumption, promoting reduce, reuse and recycle initiatives, and transitioning to a circular economy. The newly established award is described as targeting businesses and initiatives that achieve advanced resource circulation.
Menicon Co.,Ltd. has promoted the 1Case Project since 2024 as part of an SIP initiative. With the aim of recycling used cases and securing high-quality resource collection routes, the company is conducting material-characteristics surveys and strength tests on cases from numerous domestic brands. It is also advancing analysis using NanoTerasu, a synchrotron radiation facility, and data accumulation using self-organizing maps.
The case material consists of colorless, odorless polypropylene. The company is considering building a recycled-materials data bank and expanding applications to automotive components and other products. For collection, it is verifying acceptance schemes with the cooperation of users at stores, local governments and companies, and demonstrating the reuse of high-quality PP, while continuing efforts toward commercialization.