Eco-business / Social Venture

July 5, 2005

 

House with Walls of Real Eggshell Makes Debut

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Manufacturing industry 

The world's first house featuring the walls made from eggshells as built in Imari City, Shiga Prefecture, southern Japan in March 2005. The wall material was provided by Green Techno 21, a eco-company that launched its new product line, dubbed "Shell Walls." To produce the wall, 210 kilograms of eggshells (equivalent of 35,000 eggs) were collected from Q.P. Corp., a major Japanese food company.

Making full use of the eggshell's porous structure, Green Techno 21 created Shell Walls which withstand humidity well. It is also hazard-free and fireproof as it is made from natural calcium carbonate. After having their inner film peeled off, eggshells are cleansed, sterilized, crushed and ground into powder. Then with the addition of water and gypsum to the powder, the mixture is kneaded into a plaster-like texture, with eggs as the main ingredient (more than 70 percent). This plaster can then be spread on the wall. The company also offers wallpaper in this product line, made by applying a thin coat of plaster onto "washi" (Japanese paper) with an adhesive. The Shell Walls have the unique whitish shade of eggshells and a very smooth surface finish.

After it came to attention of Kouji Shimo, the president of Green Techno 21, that huge amounts of waste eggshells are incinerated in the food industry, his company worked on producing other goods recycled from eggshells. The company's products include chalk, powder for marking lines on the ground, rosin bags for slip prevention (in sports), soil conditioners for home gardening, and erasers.

The company plans to promote Shell Walls by reducing their weight and improving cost efficiency. It also intends to expand its efforts to achieve "zero-emissions" by working toward recycling various other waste materials.



Posted: 2005/07/05 07:07:04 AM
Japanese version

 

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