**Okayama Eco-town Plan** - April 2004

**Okayama Eco-town Plan** - April 2004

Okayama Prefecture's Eco-town Plan was developed as part of a package of measures to support environmental businesses that promote the recycling and use of local resources to create a sustainable society. The plan includes specific initiatives to promote the formation of a recycling-oriented society by taking advantage of industries and technologies in Okayama Prefecture.

### Features of the measures
1. **Regional Mini-Eco-town Project**:.
- The goal of this project is to build satellite eco-towns throughout Okayama Prefecture to create a model of a recycling-oriented society that takes advantage of the unique characteristics of each region. This "Regional Mini Eco-Town Project" promotes the use of local resources and renewable energy to revitalize local economies and reduce environmental burdens.

2.**Resource Circulation Promotion Project**:.
- Okayama Prefecture implements the "Resource Recycling Promotion Project" to support the construction of technologies and systems related to the utilization of recyclable resources in the prefecture. This project provides specific support measures for companies and municipalities in Okayama Prefecture to realize a recycling-oriented society through the use of environmental technologies.

3.**Specific measures to support environmental business**: **Specific measures to support environmental business**: **Specific measures to support environmental business
- Okayama Prefecture is the first region in Japan to clearly state in its ordinances support measures for environmental businesses. Specifically, based on the "Okayama Prefecture Ordinance for the Promotion of Waterfront Industry Formation," a system has been established to subsidize project costs for proposed projects related to the utilization of recyclable resources. This system encourages companies to develop environmental technologies and expand their businesses.

### Major Initiatives
1. **Mizushima Industrial Complex**:.
- The Mizushima Industrial Complex, located in the center of Okayama Prefecture's Eco-Town Plan, is being developed as a core area for recycling operations. Here, research and development of industrial waste treatment and recycling technologies are being conducted, and the area serves as a model district for the Eco-Town Plan.

2. **Recycling of wood waste using carbonization technology**:
- JFE Group companies are taking the lead in producing secondary products such as flowerpots and cat litter by utilizing technology to convert wood waste into charcoal in a high-temperature continuous carbonization furnace. This is one example of our efforts to reuse waste as a resource.

3. **Recycling of Waste Spray Cans**: **Recycling of Waste Spray Cans**: **Recycling of Waste Spray Cans
- In Ryoyo Chemical's waste spray can recycling business, discarded spray cans are processed in a treatment facility that uses nitrogen gas seals to recycle them as recycled aluminum and steel. The gas produced in this process is used for in-house power generation.

### Results and Future Prospects
Okayama Prefecture's Eco-Town Plan is a model case for balancing local economic revitalization and environmental protection through the effective use of local resources and the development of environmental technology. This initiative is also expected to have a ripple effect on other regions, and is expected to make further progress toward the realization of a sustainable society in the future.

The Okayama Eco-town Plan is attracting attention as an important measure for maximizing regional potential and promoting environmental business.