Morira's Handwriting - Pencil Recycling Progress from 2001 to 2025

Morira's Handwriting - Pencil Recycling Progress from 2001 to 2025

Hokusay Pencil has developed a recycling technology that utilizes sawdust generated during pencil production. Normally, about 40% of the pencil boards are disposed of as sawdust during the pencil manufacturing process, but the company is working to reduce this to a fine powder and reuse it as a new material called "Mokunen-san. In the past, this material was used as fuel for public bathhouses, but the decrease in the number of public bathhouses and the dioxin problem have made incineration difficult, and a new method of utilization has been sought.

Nisshin Engineering, a member of the Nisshin Flour Milling Group, cooperated in this recycling technology and succeeded in processing sawdust into a fine powder of approximately 100 mesh by applying toner particle manufacturing technology. This fine powder can be processed into a clay-like material that can be reused as a pencil by wrapping it around a pencil lead and for a variety of other applications.

This initiative by Hokusay Pencil is an important technology that reduces waste and makes effective use of resources, thereby reducing environmental impact.

Hokusay Pencil's Initiatives as of 2025

Hokusay Pencil continues to develop environmentally friendly products as of 2025. Mokunen-san" is an ecological clay that hardens like wood when dry, and is popular among many users. Visitors to the company's factory tour facility, Tokyo Pencil Lab, can learn about the manufacturing process and history of pencils, and they can also enjoy a hands-on experience using Mokunensan clay. The company has also developed "ignition wood," an igniting agent using sawdust from the manufacturing process, which is used to light bonfires, barbecues, and fireplaces.

These efforts demonstrate Hokusei Pencil's concern for the environment and creativity, and we expect the company to continue working toward the realization of a sustainable society in the future.

Related Information
- Hokusei Pencil official website
- Tokyo Pencil Lab (factory tour)
- Ignition wood (recycled sawdust product)