LOCALLY-PRODUCED OIL FOOD AND ENERGY: CANOLA-FLOWER PROJECTS BLOSSOMING NATIONWIDE

Deep fried foods such as tempura are very popular in Japan. Vegetable oils used in Japan are made from various plants (13-14 kinds) including canola (about 40 percent of the total vegetable oil consumed), soybean (about 30 percent), oil palm (about 15 percent), corn, rice, sesame, coconut, safflower and olive.

The total amount of vegetable oil consumed in Japan was about 2.5 million tonnes in 2001. A little more than a half of this amount is processed to make margarine, mayonnaise, dressing and the like. About 28 percent of the total is used in the food service industry and other businesses. About 20 percent represents vegetable oil used in home kitchens, indicating that the annual per capita home consumption is about 4 kilograms.

Japan used to produce all vegetable oil (mainly canola oil) for domestic consumption. However, due to the changes in the government's agricultural policies such as import liberalization for oil/fat products in the early 1960s, the domestic production of vegetable oil dropped dramatically and once-flourishing canola-flower fields almost disappeared. Thus Japan's current production of canola oil is statistically nil, at less than 1,000 tonnes. Overall, Japan's self-sufficiency ratio for vegetable oil is very low at only four percent.

About 0.45 million tonnes of waste oil are generated from the 2.5 million tonnes of vegetable oil consumed per year domestically. About 0.2 million tonnes of this waste oil come from homes. This means that the annual per capita output of waste vegetable oil is about 1.5 kilograms. Large quantities of waste oil coming from businesses can be collected easily thanks to the well-developed collection routes. In fact almost all waste oil from businesses is collected and recycled into cattle feed, fuel, paints, and other items. In contrast, only about 1 tonne is estimated to be collected from homes.

In the past, many households poured cooking oil waste directly down the kitchen sink, causing water pollution. It is estimated that if 200 milliliters of such waste are discharged into a river, about 43.6 cubic meters of water, or the equivalent of 132 bathtubs full, are needed to restore the water quality to its original state to make it suitable as fish habitat again. Today, oil waste is usually collected as combustible garbage after being absorbed in newspapers and coagulant products at home. Efforts to recycle waste vegetable oil into soap have also started to become popular in Japan.

Initiatives to convert waste vegetable oil into vehicle fuel have also been spreading. For example, companies such as Someya Shoten in Tokyo, Aburatou Shoji in Shiga, as well as Tohoku Eco Systems and Ishibashi Petrol all collect cooking oil waste and convert it into "biodiesel" at their plants for their own consumption and for sale. Biodiesel fuels emit no sulfur oxides and less than one third the amount of black smoke compared to regular diesel oil, and are less hazardous to human health and the environment. They can be used directly in conventional diesel vehicles.

Japan's hamburger steak chain store Bikkuri Donkey also recycles cooking oil waste into biodiesel fuel for its delivery vehicles.

If cooking oil waste is recycled into vehicle fuel, it will neither pollute rivers nor generate garbage. It will also reduce air pollutants as well as diesel oil imports, pushing up Japan's level of energy self-sufficiency. (Japan's energy self-sufficiency ratio is about 20 percent, and it relies completely on the Middle East for vehicle fuels.)

Today, in increasing numbers of regions people are producing their own cooking oil locally and also creating a recycling system to collect and convert waste cooking oil into fuel.

In some local municipalities in Shiga Prefecture, such as Aito Town, Yokkaichi City, Imazu Town, and Shin-asahi Town, biodiesel made from waste cooking oil is used for government vehicles. In these regions local cultivation of their own canola is encouraged and thus spreading. Such efforts, called "Nanohana Projects," are now widespread across the country. ("Nanohana" means "canola" and canola flowers in Japanese.) In April 2003, 46 project leaders nationwide, coming from Hakodate City of Hokkaido in northern Japan to Yakushima of Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Japan, attended the Third Nanohana Conference, held in Oasa Town of Hiroshima Prefecture.

Biodiesel is already finding a number of uses in Japan. On Lake Biwa water taxis run on biodiesel, as does a biodiesel-powered ship used for fifth graders' environmental education. In Zentsuji City of Kagawa Prefecture and Kyoto City, biofuel made from waste oil runs garbage collection trucks and city-operated buses. As well, the Trucking Association of Shizuoka Prefecture is conducting a feasibility study of biodiesel use.

In order to further promote biodiesel in Japan, it is necessary to deal with issues of taxation (light-oil delivery tax), to establish standards for biodiesel as a commercial fuel, and to develop the related laws and regulations. In July 2002, a federation of Diet members, translated as the Diet-Members' Nanohana Association, was established to focus on biomass energy using canola and other sources, to envision the ideal future of Japanese society and local communities, to conduct studies, and to propose appropriate policies, etc.

These Nanohana projects have great potential to promote local, small-scale recycling, leading to an increase, even if only slight and gradual, in Japan's self-sufficiency ratio for both food and energy supply. The Nanohana Projects are attracting keen attention as opportunities for regional revitalization, environmental education, and collaboration among citizens, governments, and companies.

PAGE TOP