Collect forty 45-liter bags of litter Marine Litter Cleanup on World Natural Heritage Site Amami Oshima

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: HASHIMOTO Osamu) and Mitsui Chemicals Industrial Products Ltd. (President: TACHIBANA Akihiro) organized a marine litter cleanup on April 10, 2022, in the Suno district of Amami Oshima, a World Natural Heritage Site in Kasaricho, Amami, Kagoshima. Staff from the two companies worked with local residents to collect marine litter that had drifted ashore or been left on the beach. Participants filled forty 45-liter garbage bags (approximately 1.8 cubic meters) with fishing nets, buoys, plastic bottles and other plastic waste, as well as pumice washed up after the August 2021 undersea volcanic eruption in the Ogasawara Islands.

A video showcasing the recent activities there is now available at https:
https://youtu.be/igYa1LpMQ-w

Background to the cleanup effort

Since 2015, Mitsui Chemicals has been supporting the work of the Japan Environmental Action Network (JEAN), a general incorporated association and pioneer in addressing the issue of marine litter through Mitsui Chemicals’ One-Coin Club^*1 which is a framework for collaborative CSR between the company and its employees. Mitsui Chemicals and JEAN have organized lectures and workshops about marine litter to understand the current situation and consider what can be done.

Since fiscal 2019, the Mitsui Chemicals Group has been engaged in the Clean-up Caravan initiative worldwide, as part of which it has undertaken cleanup activities at the World Natural Heritage Sites of Ogasawara and Shiretoko in partnership with local residents. Mitsui Chemicals undertook this recent coastal cleanup in partnership with the Suno District Residents Association after learning about the current state of marine litter on the island of Amami Oshima, which was registered as a World Natural Heritage Site in 2021.

Amami Oshima cleanup overview

Location	Coast of Suno, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima
Date	April 10, 2022
Organizer	Suno District Residents Association, Kasaricho, Amami
Sponsor	Mitsui Chemicals Group
Participants	100
Amount Collected	Forty 45-liter garbage bags (=approximately 1.8 m³)

(Reference)

*1One-Coin Club
Beginning in 2007, this CSR initiative sees Mitsui Chemicals match the donations of its employees. A committee of donating employees directs contributions to organizations that are working to solve social issues.