Introduction (Dai Fujiwara)

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The work presented here is derived from discussions on the topic of quantum technology and future society. It begins with a two-minute concept movie introducing technologies that can be a potential solution to the plastic waste problem.

　　This movie, as a work of art, features the topics of the experts who appear later, and introduces a wide range of advanced technologies, including recycling technology, quantum computing, blockchain, and satellite data.

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A wide variety of plastics (Kozo Iiba)

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Plastics are ubiquitous in our daily lives and underpin human lifestyles.

　　A wide variety of plastics can be made depending on how molecules are bonded, but this diversity actually poses a recycling challenge. For example, it is technically difficult to recycle plastic bottles mixed together with car body parts.

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The EU’s basic framework and specific measures for waste management (Rahut Jongsiri)

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Let’s look at the EU to learn about global trends. Legislation has been implemented to reduce waste.

　　For the apparel industry, it bans the landfilling or incineration of unsold textiles and requires recyclable design from 2026.

　　For food products, waste reduction targets are set, transparency in the food chain will be required, and monitoring systems such as QR code tracking will be introduced.

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The use of molecular tracers in traceability research (Takehiro Yonehara)

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A system that accurately monitors the status and location of plastic waste, and sorts and collects it, will enable on-demand recycling.

　　Molecular tracers (detectable with light) are attracting attention as a technology for monitoring plastics. Identification at the molecular level will allow tracking of components and the history of plastics.

　　Challenges include improvements in detection technology and data processing capabilities to handle large data sets.

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The use of blockchain in traceability research (Yusuke Motoki)

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We propose a traceability system for safe plastic recycling using a blockchain, a tamper-proof system for sharing data.

　　However, there are several challenges to its practical application, including the large number of transactions required for saving and managing a vast amount of data, the prevention of erroneous data input to ensure process reliability, and the enormous energy consumption.

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Possibility of material detection using Earth observation satellites (Naruo Kanemoto)

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The Earth observation satellite network currently in operation has more than 1,000 optical satellites and more than 100 SAR satellites. In the future, a satellite network of more than 10,000 satellites with various sensors can be expected.

　　Satellites will enable global monitoring of waste distribution and recycling sites.

　　Observation technology with optical and radio sensors will enable data collection by penetrating through clouds and barriers.

　　Furthermore, the integration of AI and quantum technology will enable even more precise recycling strategies.

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Utilization of quantum computers (Renichiro Haba and Kensaku Nakamura)

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Quantum computing is a futuristic computer designed to overcome the challenges of modern computing technologies. Quantum computers are expected to enable faster computational processes that have been difficult to achieve with conventional computers.

Current computational power is insufficient to handle large combinations of materials and to accurately reproduce chemical phenomena.

　　The enormous computational power will provide recipes for waste plastics (providing manufacturing processes and costs for products using waste plastic as raw materials), which is expected to lead to the development of new computational technologies to achieve a sound material-cycle society.

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Vision for future society

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We must change our recycling mindset to view waste as “resources” to be used. I think it’s important to design and develop a mechanism to realize a circular economy by considering plastic waste as a resource. (Rahut)

 

The development of a system that combines satellite data and a quantum computer is already underway, but it was a great opportunity for us to think specifically about what social issues it can be applied to and what direction we should aim for. (Kanemoto)

 

The Quantum Art Festival gave me an opportunity to think together with experts from other fields and to let our future vision leap forward through art. I have high expectations in the realization of a quantum computer-driven future. (Nakamura)

 

The concept of “common” is often found in discussions of shared resource management. Cooperative management is necessary in order to prevent the depletion or destruction of shared resources in the pursuit of one’s own profit. We believe that this concept of “common” aligns with the transition to a circular economy for recyclable waste, and we have named this project Common Products. (Fujiwara)