With "recycling-oriented society" as a keyword, the movement toward "zero emissions" at corporate factories and other facilities has become a major theme.

With "recycling-oriented society" as a keyword, the movement toward "zero emissions" at corporate factories and other facilities has become a major theme.
The main reasons for this trend are not only environmental aspects, but also reduction of waste disposal costs, improvement of corporate image, and profit from the sale of recycled resources by using waste as raw materials for other industries.
In this trend toward zero-emissions, a business that supports the formation of so-called clusters, or networks among companies that identify where and how much waste exists, introduce it to companies that need it, and allow other companies to use it as raw materials, is attracting attention.
Showa Kogyo Co., Ltd. is involved in industrial waste recycling, mainly in the Kanto region, and has recently opened an online waste exchange corner.
We interviewed Mr. Junichiro Saito, representative director of the company.
Mr. Saito is involved in the waste recycling business.
Mr. Saito first became involved in the waste business in 1990 when he was 25 years old.
He was 25 years old.
He was working as a system engineer for a major electronics manufacturer when he was introduced to the industry by an acquaintance.
Showa Kogyo was established in 1993.
Until then, the company had been engaged in collection, transportation, and final disposal of industrial waste for major chemical companies and other clients in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
The company also owned a final disposal site in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture.
However, after about two years, the landfill was full, and the company's attempt to construct a new landfill was frustrated by the "NIMBY" problem.
Mr. Saito realized that "it would be difficult to survive with only the services of storage and transportation without the added benefit of owning a final disposal site," so he shifted the focus of his business to recycling.
He established a new company and started a waste brokerage and mediation business for the purpose of recycling.
The company receives information on waste from various companies, collects information on companies that can recycle waste, receives an intermediary fee, creates appropriate recycling routes, and sells recycled materials.
Of course, the company will not only act as an intermediary, but will also provide advice on how to reuse the waste, including how to develop new applications for the waste.
Recycling is outsourced to affiliated and partner companies.
The company will also continue to collect and transport the waste, and will earn revenue by undertaking the collection and transportation of the target waste.
The company has collection and transportation permits in Tokyo and six other prefectures in the Kanto region.
Initially, the company developed clients and recycling routes through contacts from its time in the final disposal business.
Currently, there are more than 20 companies that provide and recycle waste.
There are also some companies that provide and recycle waste materials alone.
The following items have been exchanged and reused: waste sulfuric acid, waste hydrochloric acid, waste caustic soda, waste alminium soda, waste phosphoric acid, waste hydrogen peroxide, waste sulfuric acid, byproduct phosphoric acid 'noda, byproduct hydroxyl acid, byproduct sodium sulfate, waste acetic acid, waste ethyl acetate, waste ptyl acetate, waste IPA, waste methanol, waste methanol byproduct, waste carbon, waste metal silicon, waste silica, waste oil, waste polyethylene, waste vinyl chloride, waste flexible containers, etc.
For example, waste sulfuric acid and caustic soda are used as flocculants and neutralizers, waste ethyl acid, butyl acid, and IPA are recycled as solvents, and waste metal silicon is reused as a raw material for solar cells and alloys.
In addition, organic sludge, excess sludge from activated sludge, waste diatomaceous earth, and waste activated carbon are reused as raw materials by affiliated companies SK Compost (Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture) and Kikuchi Industry (Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture), which manufacture and sell soil improvement materials.
(Gifu Prefecture), which manufactures and sells PVC composite materials, and crushes and repelletizes PP, PE, ABS, and other single materials for use as building materials or for export overseas.
It can take more than a year to conclude a business deal.
The most difficult part of the waste brokerage and intermediary business is the adjustment of the conditions for taking back the waste.
There are many aspects, such as quantity, specifications, and timing of supply and demand, that don't quite fit together," he says.
For example, the provider may want to send out 300 tons, but the recipient may only accept 100 tons, or the recipient may or may not have a certain level of purification process.
It can take quite a long time for a business to be established because both the provider and the reuser have to be searched for and matched.
We have to investigate raw materials and purchased products to market the use of recycled materials, but since they are not virgin materials, there is a sense of resistance on the part of the user as to whether there are any impurities in the materials.
Even though green procurement efforts are beginning to make progress, it seems that the awareness that it is a hassle is still the first priority.
We will start by changing people's mindsets, emphasizing that it will lead to cost reductions.
In fact, there is a cost advantage in most cases for both the provider and the reuser.
Some providers may take recycling over cost benefits, but the users will never agree to talk about it unless there is a cost benefit.
This is different from sales of virgin materials, and is a difficulty unique to recycled products.
Naturally, it takes time to conclude business negotiations.
It sometimes takes more than a year to conclude a business deal.
The "Waste Exchange" website has been established to expand information gathering.
The key to business expansion in this business is to gather information as well as know-how and experience in resource recycling.
However, because the company is still small, the information it gathers is uneven.
To address this problem, in June, the company launched a "waste exchange" website on the Internet.
Companies that wish to pick up waste materials and companies that wish to take them back as recycled raw materials register the type of waste, its maximum and nature, the process by which it was generated, and its location on the company's website.
The registered items range from waste sulfuric acid, waste alkali, waste methanol and other chemicals, sludge, wood waste, waste plastics, and even used waste treatment equipment.
The company will mediate and match the supply-demand balance.
Some local governments and chambers of commerce have already established similar systems using PR magazines.
However, because the information is only posted on the website and the rest is exchanged between the parties concerned, it is difficult to actually move forward with the project because of conflicting conditions for taking over the equipment.
It is necessary to have an intermediary who can reconcile the wishes of the two parties," said Mr. Kato.
For the time being, brokerage and mediation services will focus on the Kanto region, but with the launch of the waste exchange site, the company hopes to expand nationwide in the future by networking with industrial waste disposal companies throughout Japan.
Considering the current focus of companies on waste reduction and recycling, such a position is indispensable.
Traditional industrial waste disposers are also becoming more recycling-oriented, and newcomers to the market are likely to increase in the future.
Before this happens, the company aims to quickly build a track record and establish an information collection system in order to surround itself with these companies.