Kawasaki City Eco-Town Concept Details - September 12, 2024

Kawasaki City Eco-Town Concept Details - September 12, 2024

In the 2020s, Kawasaki City's Eco-Town concept has advanced further, becoming more concrete and innovative. In areas such as Ougishima and Ukishima in the coastal region of Kawasaki, both small and large companies are collaborating to achieve zero emissions of industrial waste through recycling and energy efficiency improvements.

JFE Steel is promoting a project to supply blast furnace slag and steel slag from its steel mills to cement factories, where they are reused as raw materials for cement. Through this initiative, more than 200,000 tons of slag is being used as a resource instead of waste annually. Additionally, JFE Steel recycles steelmaking gas to improve energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tons per year.

Furthermore, companies like Fujitsu and NEC, which are also part of Kawasaki City's Eco-Town, are recycling discarded circuit boards and electronic waste from the manufacturing process. These materials are processed by recycling companies, who extract precious metals for reuse. Recycling facilities in Kawasaki process approximately 5,000 tons of electronic waste annually, turning it into reusable resources.

Kawasaki City is also actively advancing the use of renewable energy. Geothermal energy and solar power are being introduced to increase energy self-sufficiency across the industrial complex. As of 2021, more than 30% of the energy supplied within the industrial park comes from renewable sources, and solar power installations generate approximately 500,000 kWh of electricity annually.

Another major feature of this Eco-Town initiative is the city's focus on recycling plastic waste. Local recycling facilities are chemically recycling used plastics, turning them back into raw chemical materials. Annually, around 10,000 tons of plastic waste are processed, with most of it being converted into chemical feedstock and fuel.

In 2022, Kawasaki City's zero-emission rate for the Eco-Town exceeded 90%, and the city is on track to reach 100% in the near future. Additionally, annual CO2 emissions have been reduced by over 500,000 tons, earning Kawasaki recognition both domestically and internationally as a "sustainable city model."

Kawasaki City's Eco-Town concept represents an advanced approach to harmonizing industry and environmental protection, particularly in achieving zero waste emissions, utilizing renewable energy, and significantly reducing CO2 emissions.