Village Promotes Waste Cooking Oil Recycling with Gift of Tofu

Samegawa Village in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, started a project to recycle waste cooking oil on July 22, 2010, in which waste household cooking oil is collected and refined into biodiesel fuel, and the resulting fuel is used for school lunch delivery vehicles. This project is expected to help reduce waste and carbon dioxide emissions, in addition to contributing to the environmental education of children and the development of a recycling-oriented society.

The project is based on Samegawa's Biomass Village initiative, which has been established to actively use biomass resources in the village, with a view to (1) building a community in which abundant organic resources in the village are effectively used, the beautiful natural environment is conserved, allowing people to maintain good health and feel peace of mind, (2) protecting the irreplaceable earth, and (3) passing on to the next generation the village's beautiful nature, culture, and close bonds among the local people.

As part of the program, waste cooking oil collection boxes are placed in primary and secondary schools, as well as the offices of the village and the chamber of commerce, in order to facilitate oil collection from households. When people bring waste cooking oil to the collection boxes, they receive a trading stamp, and a certain number of accumulated stamps can be exchanged for "Tassha no Tofu," a specialty soybean curd product made in the village.

Posted: 2010/12/16 06:00:15 AM