Tsuruga Shinkin Bank, a local credit union in Japan's Fukui Prefecture, is accepting deposits for its third annual "Eco Term Deposit" from December 2004 through March 2005. The one-year term deposit is available for companies and individuals that invest between 100,000 and 3,000,000 yen (about U.S.$970 to 29,000).

The selling point of this deposit is that the interest rate paid will rise in accordance with the amount of garbage reduced in the community. At the end of the term, the total amount of garbage generated between October 2004 and September 2005 in the towns of Mihama and Mikata and the city of Tsuruga, the main business territory of the bank, will be compared to the amount produced in the previous 12 months. For a reduction of 1,000 tons and over, the bank will pay ten times its advertised prime interest rate. For reductions of 530 tons, 200 tons, and one ton, the bank will pay 5.3 times, 2 times, and 1.5 times its advertised rate, respectively.

Last year the bank paid 0.04 percent, double its advertised prime rate for the Eco Term Deposit, as the three municipalities had reduced their combustible garbage by 461 tons in total. The announcement for the interest rate this year will be made on November 15, 2005.

The Shinkin Bank also started a "Recycling Term Deposit" in June 2004, for which interest rates are calculated in accordance based on increases in the amount of recycling materials collected in the community. The bank is also running a "My Bag" campaign that encourages consumers to bring their own shopping bags to stores and reduce the use of disposable plastic and paper bags. In various ways such as this, the bank has been focusing its attention on the local community.



Posted: 2005/06/04 04:48:58 PM
Japanese version

TAG Material reduction , Non-manufacturing industry , System/Law