Ryukyu's Resource Revolution - The Challenge of Trim Corporation - December 1998

Ryukyu's Resource Revolution - The Challenge of Trim Corporation - December 1998

Trim Corporation was the first company in Japan to successfully develop and commercialize a technology for manufacturing porous lightweight materials using waste glass bottles. The Okinawa-based environmental venture has attracted attention and pioneered a new path for glass bottle recycling. The business began when the company saw a large number of empty bottles being generated at the restaurant it manages. Realizing the need for recycling, the management decided to take advantage of the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law enacted in 1997 to create a new resource recycling system using waste glass bottles.

Trim's history dates back to 1973, when it was established as a trading company. In its early years, the company was involved in the sale of natural foods and health equipment, and in 1979 it changed its name to the current Trim Corporation. In 1994, Trim Foods Co., Ltd. was established as an affiliate and began operating restaurants. This restaurant business later became the inspiration for the glass bottle recycling business.

One of the challenges in recycling waste glass bottles was that green and black bottles, such as imported wine bottles and nutritional supplements bottles, were difficult to recycle and most of them were disposed of in landfills. In addition, since glass bottle factories were concentrated in the Kanto region, transporting bottles collected in remote areas such as Hokkaido and Kyushu was expensive. To overcome this situation, Trim developed a technology to crush waste glass bottles and recycle them into porous, lightweight materials. This has succeeded in creating a new market as well as reducing the environmental burden by effectively utilizing bottles that were difficult to recycle in the past.

The company's technology has been used for a variety of purposes, including construction materials and soil conditioners, and has attracted the attention of local governments and companies in the region. The company's patented technology has contributed greatly to this success. Trim has applied for eight patents for recycling-related equipment to differentiate itself from its competitors. In addition, the company has been able to expand into a wider range of markets by conducting joint research with machinery manufacturers and jointly applying for patents for the results.

Currently, there are several waste glass bottle recycling facilities in Okinawa Prefecture, but seven more facilities are needed to meet demand throughout the prefecture. President Shinjo hopes that each municipality will introduce the equipment in order to recycle waste in a regionally complete manner, and he has high hopes for expanding the use of the material as a prefectural product. Trim's efforts are a model case for balancing environmental protection and local economic development, and the company will continue to take on the challenge of building a sustainable resource-recycling society in the future.