One hotel in Tokyo adopts seawater biodegradable toothbrush
In the rooms of the Tokyu Hotel in Shibuya, Tokyo, there are brown disposable bags for washing and other disposables. The toothbrushes in them are said to be made of special materials that have been used since 2022. Shinyuki Kaneko, Director of the Operations Team of the Hotel Operations Headquarters, said: "Our goal is to become a hotel that customers love and care about by adopting safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly products."
This toothbrush handle uses the biodegradable polymer Green Planet (PHBH brand name produced by Kaneka), which looks like plastic, but is actually made of 100% vegetable oil raw materials, and can degrade in soil or seawater, so it is plastic environmentally friendly alternatives.
Kaneka, the chemical manufacturing company responsible for the research and development of the material, said that companies such as Tokyu Hotels seeking plastic alternatives are increasing. Mamoru Kakukura, director, director and senior executive officer of the company's Green Planet promotion department, said: "Since 2022, especially those brand (trademark) holders with high environmental awareness have expressed their desire to use Green Planet, and our customers are rapidly increasing .”
In April 2022, laws aimed at reducing the use of single-use plastic products will come into effect. Also because of the impetus of the law, Green Planet is increasingly used in various products, such as shopping bags at the airport, tableware in restaurants, and straws for carton drinks.
