NPO corporation Japan food recycling network Kansai branch section | Eiji Yoshida

Food loss and food waste reduction are issues that should be addressed by society as a whole. GOOD NATURE STATION Then, we will work on establishment of eco-recycling with people of production farmer by way of composting and utilizing food waste and food loss coming out of facility.

The partners are “Omi Sonoda Farm”, who runs agriculture in Omi-Hachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, and Mr. Eiji Yoshida of the NPO Japan Food Recycling Network. This time, we will introduce the activities of Mr. Yoshida, who plays an active role as a bridge between our employer and producers.

Utilization of "food loss compost" starts by food recycling law

In 2001, the Food Recycling Law was enacted in order to curb the ever-increasing generation of food waste and to reduce it. The feature of this law is not only to reduce the generation and disposal of food waste, but also to reuse it as fertilizer and feed as resources and to promote recycling.

As a result, food-related companies that emit more than 100 tons of food waste per year are obliged to work on waste reduction and recycling.

Under such circumstances, efforts to compost and feed food waste began nationwide. Business operators such as food manufacturers and commercial facilities, hotels, and large companies with employee cafeterias perform primary processing using dedicated processing equipment, and the product farmers are engaged in farming and dairy farming to collect the products, and organic fertilizers It is used as a raw material and feed.

The agricultural products thus produced are returned from the producers to the establishments that have emitted the food products. It is a mechanism that aims to be a sustainable recycling society, where abandoned food is reborn as food again.

At first glance it seems like an effective good cycle, but at the beginning it was pretty tough. For recycling, it is essential to separate waste at the place of waste generation.

However, even if the employer shows an understanding of recycling, it is not an easy task to instill that awareness to each and every employee working in the kitchen. It is not properly sorted out, and paper packs and vinyl are mixed, and there are cases where it can not be used as fertilizer or feed.

There was also a special case that the primary processed products (composting) that reached the farmers were mixed with pieces of teacups and spoons.

The NPO Japan Food Recycling Network solves such problems in the recycling process as an intermediary between business owners and farmers. The motto is "Return the grace of the earth to the earth ...".

In addition to making efforts for the well-known and thorough separation of laws, we also cooperate with the establishment of processing equipment standards for composting food waste at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries before the Food Recycling Law is enforced. did. Eiji Yoshida of the Japan Food Recycling Network Kansai Branch speaks like this.

Yoshida: "If foreign matter and impurities are mixed, it will be difficult to make good soil in the fields where the product (composting) is planted, and it will have an adverse effect on the making of agricultural products.

I visited the kitchen of the discharge company and explained the need for separation many times, saying, "The farmland is not a dumping ground." Anyway, I was desperate so that the business owner and the producers could build a better relationship. "

Create a cycle of recycling agriculture with a producer and two people

Mr. Yoshida has been working on the spread of recycling agriculture in the Kansai region. Among them, it was Koichi Sonoda of "Omi-Sonoda Farm" which continued agriculture in consideration of environment as eco-farmer of Shiga authorization that we met in 2004. When Mr. Yoshida talked about food loss compost, Mr. Sonoda understood the benefits of cooking waste and the organic materials left by people, and agreed to cooperate.

Food loss compost is highly safe if it is well managed by the office where it is discharged. This was a safe one for Sonoda who valued soil preparation.

Sonoda: "I didn't know at all until now, but I thought it was a great effort to take care of the environment. The cooking waste and the leftovers that are the source of compost are very safe and have been used until then Compost has similar ingredients, I think it would also be good for soil preparation. "

As a result of using food loss compost, Sonoda's rice fields and fields have become richer in soil, and more delicious crops have grown than ever before. Currently, Omi-Sonoda Farm is promoting eco-recycling through food loss composting in cooperation with five companies including companies, schools, hospitals and hotels in Shiga Prefecture.

GOOD NATURE STATION However, in cooperation with Mr. Yoshida and Mr. Sonoda, I would like to try to reduce food waste. The equipment for primary treatment installed in the facility is fermented / decomposed using the power of microorganisms and transformed into compost in about 24 hours.

The processed compost has no odor, and it has a rich smell like various foods being condensed. The crops grown by Sonoda using the compost are:GOOD NATURE STATION It will be sold at. We want our customers to know about waste reduction, food loss problems, and recycling-type eco-agriculture through our own practice.

Spread food loss compost to homes and expand the circle of recycling society

Omi Sonoda facilities require about 1 ton of compost per hectare of farmland. However, the amount of compost that can be collected from partner companies is about 20 tons per year, which is currently not enough for Sonoda who has more than 210 hectares of farmland. Under such circumstances, Mr. Yoshida wants not only business owners but also general households to have an awareness of food waste reduction and recycling.

Yoshida: "In Japan, it is said that about 250 kg of food waste per household is about 250 kg a year, and that about one light truck is currently being discharged. We use fossil fuels to incinerate and dispose of things that are difficult to burn.

Just burning in landfills does not reduce the amount of waste. The spread of household processing equipment can reduce the amount of food waste and promote recycling more. Then I want you to reduce the cost of waste incineration and use that for other fields such as education and welfare. "

Yoshida: "The food loss composting approach benefits not only agriculture but society as a whole. GOOD NATURE STATION It is hoped that this approach can be spread to the general public, as facilities visited by many people actively work like this.

GOOD NATURE STATION At the same time, we will work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing garbage emissions by composting food waste and creating a cycle of recycling agriculture with our producers. You

Eiji Yoshida (Yoshida, Eiji)

Deputy director of NPO corporation Japan food recycling network. In response to the enforcement of the Food Recycling Law in 2001, we have participated in the Food Recycling Equipment Communication Council, which was established mainly by food recycling equipment manufacturers. Then, in April 2006, established Kansai branch based in Omi Hachiman city. We are carrying out activities to spread the "Food Loss Compost" approach to the prefecture and other areas with producers.