Sanpo-yoshi Communication

Attention as an alternative to paper and plastic! What is LIMEX, a next-generation environmentally friendly material made mainly from limestone?

In recent years, as environmental issues related to wood resources and petroleum-derived products have come under scrutiny, LIMEX, a next-generation environmentally friendly material based on limestone, has been attracting attention as a new material to replace paper and plastic. LIMEX, a next-generation environmentally friendly material made mainly from limestone.

LIMEX is a new material developed, manufactured, and marketed by TBM, a Japanese company that uses limestone as a raw material to replace paper and plastic. The greatest feature of limestone is that it is abundantly available in Japan and all over the world. It is one of the few underground resources that can be 100% self-sufficient in Japan, and its production in 2020 is said to be about 130 million tons (*Source: Limestone Mining Association), with proven reserves of 11.2 billion tons (*Source: J-STAGE). This is the world's sixth largest ore reserve after China, the United States, India, Russia, and Brazil.

The use of paper and plastics, which are currently the mainstream, is becoming increasingly important due to problems such as deforestation and plastics in the oceans, which have accelerated the movement toward sustainable forest conservation and recycling, as well as the movement to reduce the amount of paper and plastics used. LIMEX is a new material that is attracting attention for its ability to reduce the use of paper resources and petroleum-derived plastics through the use of abundant and inexpensive limestone.

One of the advantages of LIMEX is that it requires virtually no water resources or wood. While it takes 20 trees and 85 tons of water to produce one ton of paper, LIMEX requires only 0.6 to 0.8 tons of limestone and 0.2 to 0.4 tons of polypropylene to produce one ton of paper-replacement sheets. The LIMEX manufacturing plant uses virtually 100% renewable energy and virtually no water is used in the production process, contributing to a reduction in environmental impact from various perspectives.

Other advantages include high durability and water resistance, reusability, and the ability to contribute to the achievement of 8 of the 17 SDGs.