Annual industrial waste amounts to 400 million tons. Given the shortage of processing facilities and the need for effective resource utilization, the 5R approach (Refine, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, Reconvert to Energy) is essential.

Annual industrial waste amounts to 400 million tons. Given the shortage of processing facilities and the need for effective resource utilization, the 5R approach (Refine, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, Reconvert to Energy) is essential.
Sumieito Co., Ltd., headquartered in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, is a leading company in the recycling sector. It has established a unique system as its core business, "turning industrial waste into resources." With approximately 50 employees, the company generates sales of 4.4 billion yen. We spoke with President Eiji Kumano.
Creating resources through technology. The company was founded in 1977. It was established as a management and operations company to prevent secondary pollution when mining companies recovered zinc and other materials from waste. President Kumano joined the company in 1979, two years after its founding. "After graduating from university, I joined the company my uncle managed. Being young at the time, I must admit I felt a bit embarrassed about working with garbage."
Back then, recycling meant zinc recovered from non-ferrous industry waste was reused within that same industry—intra-industry recycling was the norm. Initially, the company followed this conventional approach. However, during the recession triggered by the 1979 Second Oil Crisis, the search for more efficient business methods led to the idea of cross-industry recycling. The recession became the catalyst for challenging conventional wisdom.
"Since it's waste, we'd offer to take it off their hands instead of charging disposal fees. For the generating company, this actually reduced their processing costs. Crucially, this business model also meant the companies receiving the recycled raw materials paid less than for conventional materials. We were relentlessly focused on economic viability from the very start."
When we started the business in 1980 and went to present to cement companies, production-side personnel were reluctant to approve, asking who would take responsibility and how if using waste as raw material affected the product. After much effort, we finally secured an agreement for three trial deliveries of 500 tons each. "However, back then, the companies generating the waste also lacked awareness, and the waste sent from factories presented various challenges. We worked through the night sorting it and somehow managed to deliver it."
After the three trial deliveries, the production manager who had opposed us said, "Mr. Kumano, this is truly an era where we create resources through technology," and decided to accept our solution. "Hearing those words, the sense of inferiority I'd felt about my work vanished. My mindset shifted to recognizing that we were creating resources. Moreover, we were receiving gratitude from both the waste-generating companies and the receiving companies. That was the moment I realized this was work worthy of dedicating my entire life to."
President Kumano was 24 at the time. The business he launched this way gradually expanded its client base, accumulated know-how, and built a system. The recycling system the company established over 20 years is illustrated in the diagram below.
For example, waste from various companies—including sludge and spent solvents—is combined and homogenized into a slurry. This is then used as fuel by cement companies. Similarly, large quantities of eggshells discarded by food companies are utilized as cement raw materials. In other words, within Sumi Eight's recycling system, nothing is truly waste anymore. "For recycling to succeed, three conditions are essential: low cost, stability, and safety.
Through experiencing unfavorable conditions for our company, such as repeated yen appreciation, we have learned what is necessary to meet these conditions. Expanding our network to gather information and efficiently supply recycled raw materials, coupled with deep market knowledge, leads to economic viability. If our recycled raw materials are not superior to current raw materials in both cost and quality, the business has no value. It requires not just the idealistic notion that recycling should be done, but constant competitiveness and adaptation to changing business conditions."
"We aim to become an indispensable company. To date, the company has coordinated recycling for over 1,000 businesses. Beyond its three domestic locations, it established an office in Seoul based on the principle that 'building a wide-ranging recycling coordination network is more rational.' While the company has grown steadily since its founding in 1977, it senses a shift in societal trends over recent years.
The initial catalyst was the 1992 Earth Summit. "Before that, companies were reluctant to publicize that they recycled waste as raw materials. However, since the Summit, the trend has shifted—companies now see it as enhancing their image and are open to promoting it." Furthermore, with initiatives like the Zero Emission Concept proposed by the United Nations University in the late 1990s, the company's efforts seem ahead of their time.
"I suppose you could say the spotlight has turned to what we've been working on, accelerating the trend. However, such initiatives require breaking through the barriers of conventional wisdom, and it's not something one company can do alone. It becomes possible only when symbiotic relationships with other companies are established. Our company doesn't aim to be big or powerful; we strive to be indispensable. With 50 employees, we generate annual sales of 4.4 billion yen.
For a venture company, this size is probably the right fit." Based on this philosophy, the company has not pursued an expansion strategy but has instead focused on maximizing the use of its existing systems. While it operates its own recycling plant, over half of its processing is still outsourced to partners, and transportation and distribution are also contracted out. Establishing a joint venture with the Hitachi Chemical Group in 1995 was also part of this approach.
"We are confident in our information assets, such as our network and know-how. Going forward, technological capability is the challenge. We hope to collaborate with technology-holding entities to create new markets." The company plans to list its shares (over-the-counter) in the fall of 2001. As the global trend toward a zero-waste recycling society, including waste resource recovery, gains momentum, the company's role is likely to become even more significant in the 21st century.