Nagoya City (Aichi Prefecture) - Building a Business Model through Increased Demand for Wood Chips 2003

Nagoya City (Aichi Prefecture) - Building a Business Model through Increased Demand for Wood Chips 2003
Around 2003, following the enactment of the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-Oriented Society, the conversion of waste into resources became a major policy issue in Japan. In the midst of the massive amount of wood waste generated by the demolition rush that followed the bursting of the bubble economy, FURUHASHI KOGYO Co. in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, established a new business model by recycling construction demolition materials and wood residues into wood chips. This initiative is regarded as a pioneering urban recycling business and a symbolic example of how to achieve both resource recycling and economic efficiency.

Wood chips are used for two main purposes. One is as a raw material for pulp in the paper industry, with the aim of reducing dependence on imported chips and utilizing domestic resources. The other is as fuel for biomass power generation, where wood chips are used for co-firing with coal-fired power plants or in dedicated boilers, in line with the trend toward expanding the introduction of renewable energy sources.

In terms of technology, efficient shredding using large chippers and shredders, removal of foreign matter using specific gravity and magnetic force, and advanced utilization technologies such as fluidized bed boilers and gasification power generation were developing in parallel. The introduction of wood pelletizing also began to be explored for small-scale heat utilization and expansion into the household market.

In the case of Nagoya, waste was converted into recycled resources, and the city functioned as a hub of circulation linking multiple sectors, such as paper manufacturing, energy, and construction. This was the embodiment of a circular economy model in an urban area and an important opportunity for the expansion of biomass utilization in Japan.