Gundam Goes Green With Gunpla Recycling Initiative

In 2019, Gundam celebrated its 40th anniversary since its first release back in 1979, and it continues to be an icon in today’s pop culture. With such a huge fanbase worldwide, Bandai Namco has taken the opportunity to make use of the franchise’s influence to make a difference in society.

Introducing the all-new sustainability project, Gundam Universal Century Development Action (GUDA), Bandai Namco hopes to promote activities that will bring about a long-term and sustainable society together with fans. The initiative stems from the world of Gundam itself, where issues of human population and environment erosion resonate with current real-world concerns, thus prompting the company’s decision to make a difference.

Kicking off the project would be an initiative named the Gunpla Recycling Project. Working hand-in-hand with the fans, this project aims to gather the empty runners left behind after the assembling of Gunpla model kits, and convert them into new plastic model products through chemical recycling technology. The collection will be done through dedicated collection boxes all over Japan in Bandai Namco facilities including Namco Arcades, which totals up to 190 locations.

Additionally, Bandai Namco has also launched the Gundam Open Innovation project with the aim of gathering ideas and technology relating to sustainability that could help the future generation deal with problems like over-population and environmental destruction. The exact specifics of how this will be executed have not been detailed, but what’s known is that the company is looking to partner research organisations and experts to kick things off. Interested parties may head to the official website for more information.

As the Gundam franchise continues to expand , it is refreshing to see such a big company like Bandai Namco making use of its popularity to make a difference to society and highlight issues that impact everyone.

For more Gundam news, Netflix is prepping a live-action Mobile Suit Gundam film with Jordan Vogt-Robert as its director, though not much is known about the movie just yet. In addition, Netflix will also be releasing Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway on its platform on 1 July 2021, which makes us rather convinced that Netflix is actually a part of the Gundam fandom.

To round things up is one last surprise announcement from Bandai Namco Entertainment. While information remains scarce on this front, the company is looking to release a new game catered specifically to the esports market in the near future. We’re not sure how that’s going to work, but hey, everything is possible where Gundam is concerned – the franchise, after all, is certainly going places that many would have pinned as unexpected.