East Japan Railway Co., (JR East) will build a factory to make polyethylene film from recycled newspapers and magazines, Masatake Matsuda, president of the firm, said Wednesday.

Newspapers and magazines collected at JR East's stations and trains are processed into minute powder and mixed with polyethylene to make the plastic film, which will be turned into garbage bags. The film is designed to be environmentally friendly because it does not produce harmful gas when incinerated.

JR East and its affiliated firms will use the products themselves and also sell them to local governments and private-sector companies. The factory is to be built at the cost of 330 million yen in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, and JR East's affiliated firm is to begin operation of the factory in September.


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