To the Sea of Circulation--"Gateway to Recycling" Engraved on the Port of Noshiro, Akita (Designated in December 2006/Started in 2007)

To the Sea of Circulation--"Gateway to Recycling" Engraved on the Port of Noshiro, Akita (Designated in December 2006/Started in 2007)
In December 2006, the Port of Noshiro in Akita Prefecture was designated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as a "comprehensive venous logistics hub port (recycling port). This was one of only 22 ports in Japan selected under a system that certifies ports for the efficient distribution of waste and recycled resources by marine transport. The selection of the Port of Noshiro was a historic moment in the history of regional ports as they shifted their role from "disposal" to "recycling.
Behind the selection of the Port of Noshiro was the existence of the Northern Akita Eco-Town Project. Centered in Odate City and Kosaka Town, nonferrous metal recycling and smelting technologies have been concentrated, and the area has become a hub for "urban mining" to recover precious metals from electronic circuit boards, used home appliances, automobiles, and other items. The Port of Noshiro served as the front line for transporting these recycled resources overseas via the Sea of Japan route, making it a strategic point that connected the sea and the inland technological sphere.
In the year following the designation, test unloading of contaminated soil and the attraction of recycling-related companies began, and the port's new image began to take shape. The Recycle Port Promotion Council was established, and plans were made to develop a marine transportation network with less environmental impact. Under the principles of the country's Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-based Society, venous logistics through marine transport became a new pillar linking environmental policy and local industry.
During this period, Japan was rapidly promoting the international circulation of recycled materials against a backdrop of soaring resource prices and expanding Asian markets. The revitalization of the Port of Noshiro was a symbolic event in the revitalization of a "wooden city" that once thrived on lumber, but is now revitalizing itself with metals and the environment. In recent years, the Port of Noshiro has also taken on the role of a base port for offshore wind power generation, and is transforming into a new circulatory sea that links both veins and arteries.