Food Waste Recycling Using 'Eco-Money' Starts in Kanagawa Shopping Arcade

A new recycling project for food waste using "eco-money," a community currency, has started in Nakacho Main Street Arcade in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. Under this project, household food waste is collected and composted for local farmers to produce organic vegetables.

The project, started in full swing from July 8, 2005, is one of the "Pilot Projects for Building a Sound Material Society" approved by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. The Association for the Promotion of Nakacho Main Street Arcade, the project's organizer, issues the eco-money when people bring household food waste to "Eco Station," a drop-off site in the arcade. Each kilogram of the waste is rewarded with ten points of eco-money, which can later be used as 10 yen (about nine U.S. cents) for purchases in the arcade. The collected waste is dried and composted before being distributed to the farmers in the city to grow organic vegetables.

By selecting organic vegetables grown locally with the local compost and providing them to people using the local currency, the association aims to establish a sound cycle of local produce for local consumption, while also revitalizing the shopping arcade.



Posted: 2005/11/18 11:48:55 AM
Japanese version