MKV Dream Co., Ltd.

On April 1st, MKV Dream Co., Ltd. (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; president: Katsutoshi Ogihara) will launch sales of Kaeruchi™ biodegradable mulch film. Reasonably priced to attract a large portion of the market, Kaeruchi™ reduces total cost by lowering the costs of collecting and disposing of used film.

Mulch film is used in agriculture. It is spread over fields for such purposes as preventing the soil from drying out, preventing weeds from going, and regulating the temperature. It is used to cultivate a wide range of produce, including lettuce, corn, squash, radishes, and onions. Although most mulch film is made from polyethylene, recently there have been increasing sales of film made with biodegradable plastic, which will break down in a natural environment. However, biodegradable mulch film is three to four times more expensive than that made with polyethylene, and as a result it only accounts for about 3% of total usage.

As Japan's only manufacturer of vinyl film, polyolefin film, and polyethylene mulch film for agricultural use, MKV Dream has been highly committed to developing a biodegradable mulch film product that does not require removal (collection) or disposal as waste plastic, positioning it as a material that gives consideration to both producers and the global environment.

The new product, Kaeruchi™, uses Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation's GS Pla for biodegradable plastic as its main constituent. MKV Dream's processing technologies are used to improve yields, reducing costs while maintaining quality. Although priced slightly higher than ordinary polyethylene film, Kaeruchi™ costs producers less overall, because there is no need for collection work (e.g. removal and cleanup), and it eliminates the cost of disposing of the used film. It is easy to spread using farm machinery, and while the crops are growing, it functions nearly identically to ordinary mulch film. By harvest time three to five months later, however, microorganisms in the soil have begun to break it down, and if it is plowed into the soil along with the remains of the harvest, it will eventually decompose into water and carbonic acid gas. Kaeruchi™ is therefore particularly recommended when growing such crops as corn, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, napa cabbage, squash, radishes, onions, and yams, for which the collection of used film is especially laborious.

In addition to its agricultural materials business, which is centered on agricultural films, MKV Dream offers solutions that combine hard and soft aspects, such as a solar-powered plant factory using a hydroponic system and supplemental lighting materials. The company aims to continue to grow and expand these businesses by accelerating the development of new products that serve agricultural producers.

* GS Pla is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.

●Features

1)	It only needs to be plowed into the soil with a rotary, eliminating the need for removal and saving energy and labor.
2)	It improves productivity by shortening the time between harvest and the next planting.
3)	Waste disposal is not required for used film, greatly reducing the amount of waste.
4)	It has stable strength, and can be spread using mulchers and other machinery.
5)	It is friendly to the environment: microorganisms in the soil break it down into water and carbon dioxide.

 

●Product Specifications

Colors	Black and transparent
Width	95, 135, or 150 cm
Length	２００ｍ or ４００ｍ

* Varieties with holes available
* Produced on order; assumes entire order will be delivered at once

 

●Photos

Biodegradable mulch film spread by farm machinery	Plowing it into the soil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

■Inquires regarding this material should be directed to the
	Public Relations Section, General Administration Dept., Mitsubishi Plastics Inc. TEL: +81-3-3279-3800