The Paper Recycling Promotion Center was established on March 1974 to promote paper recycling with a support of the national government, the paper industry and recovered paper dealers. The center’s activity includes stabilizing recovered paper quality, promoting recovered paper collection, Public Relations, research, and obligation guaranty, etc.

   The quality stabilization of recovered paper is important for the stable production and supply of paper and paperboard. The center is working on improving recovered paper quality by introducing a registration system for recovered paper dealers based on a self-assessment and establishing recovered paper quality management network.

   In 2008, some paper manufactures contributed money to a fund which is used for the environmental protection and requested the center via Japan Paper Association to spend this fund for the projects such as Public Relations and research activities. The center plans to use this fund for making and distributing Public Relations tools, holding seminars and exhibitions, and conducting various surveys and studies. This fund is provided for five years from a year of 2008.

   The center prepares posters, brochures, panels and DVDs, holds exhibitions and seminars, and encourages “Green Mark” labeling to promote source separation, removal of prohivitives, efficient collection systems, buying recovered paper-content products. In 2008, the center’s original characters were created for the Public Relations purpose. The characters were named “Kamily Mama and Kamily Chan”.

   Note: “kami” means “paper” in Japanese.

   Research and study are the center’s another important activity to increase recovered paper recovery rate and utilization rate. In past years, the center has conducted such research themes as Paper Recycling at Offices, Problems with Paper Quality Caused by Prohivitives, Estimating Volume of Paper and Paperboard Used for Import and Export Packaging Materials, Use for Non-paper Applications, Development and Dissemination of Recyclable Paper Products, Recovered Paper Use and Environmental Impact, Collection and Utilization of Sorted Residential Old Paper and Paperboard, and International Recovered Paper Recycling, etc.

   Note: Some examples of non-paper applications include molded pulp products, paper stock board, animal bedding, and RPF (Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel).

   The center guarantees obligation to bank loans of recovered paper dealers who introduce new recovered paper treatment equipments.