Co-sponsored with Itoen Co., Ltd., the Faculty of Economics Kakegawa Michiyo Seminar held "My Bottle de Tea Party"
On Wednesday, January 14th, the event "My Bottle de Tea Party" co-sponsored by the Faculty of Economics Kakegawa Michiyo Seminar and Itoen Co., Ltd. was held in Global Square, and students, faculty, and staff participated.
This project was proposed and implemented by a student group of Kakegawa Seminar (representatives: Nobuaki Hayakawa and Takuto Kubo) as part of a research activity aimed at reducing the emission of PET bottles and raising awareness of separation on campus, which won the Excellence Award at the 3rd SDGs Good Practice (Type B)* of our university.
Participants brought their own bottles and deepened their learning about environmental issues while tasting various styles of tea such as tea bags, instant tea, and tea leaves provided by Itoen Co., Ltd.
At the beginning, students from the Kakegawa Seminar gave a research report based on the current state of sorting on campus and their visits to waste plastic disposal companies. The students who presented mentioned that there is a long process that goes through the hands of many people, such as removing labels and caps at social welfare facilities and resorting by contractors, before the plastic bottles we throw away are recycled. "By knowing the weight of the process after disposal, I emphasized the importance of discarding in a clean state, the need to make efforts to reduce the number of plastic bottles themselves, and the importance of small accumulations every day.
Next, Ito En Co., Ltd. introduced the company's sustainability initiatives, such as recycled products using recycled tea leaves and tea production area cultivation business. Participants learned about the current state of resource circulation from the perspectives of companies and students, and then actively exchanged opinions on "ways to promote the use of My Bottles on campus." In addition, they received a lecture on "how to make delicious tea" from a tea taster from Itoen, and everyone practiced it together. It was a moment of friendship while enjoying the aroma of authentic tea.
Participants commented, "I want to make it a habit to carry my own bottle because I know that the regeneration process is not easy," and "I want to incorporate ideas into my life that do not produce garbage, such as using instant powdered tea."
*This program was launched in 2022 with the aim of honoring and providing support to initiatives that contribute significantly to the SDGs (Type A) and ideas with high feasibility (Type B). Winning groups will receive a certificate and a prize. Groups recognized as Type B will also receive a grant.
