The Organizing Committee for Japan's Waste Control and Recycling Technology Exhibition (WASTEC), which promotes the creation of a recycling-oriented society, presented the 8th WASTEC Awards in November 2004 to companies and organizations for a wide range of contributions to environmental protection that involved buildings or other facilities, equipment, technology, publications and campaigns or projects.

The grand prize was awarded to the Regional Circulation Network, a nonprofit organization (NPO) in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, which was recognized for its ongoing efforts in recycling food waste generated in Nagaoka City (population about 190,000) through an original circulation system. In this system, food waste collected from all the nursery, elementary and junior high schools in the city are fermented into livestock feed. The feed is consumed on local stock farms, and their livestock products are distributed on the local market.

In the new technology category, Sekisui Chemical Co. was awarded for recycling technology that uses waste wood to make structural materials for house construction, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for its electrolytic de-nitrification system. The industrial plant category awards were presented to Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. for its Tamagawa Incineration Plant and to JFE Engineering Corp. for its next-generation stoker incinerator.

Meanwhile, in the enterprise category, Kirin Brewery Co. was awarded for its efforts to reduce the amount of excess sludge in wastewater discharged from its plants, and Sharp Corp. for its recycling system to recover hydrofluoric acid from used hydrofluoric acid water. The award in the publication and information technology category was given to "Environmental goo," an environmental portal site.



Posted: 2005/02/20 03:20:21 PM
Japanese version

TAG Food/Water , Manufacturing industry , Material reduction , NGO/Citizen , Non-manufacturing industry , Other , Technology