Case Studies

Aiming for an ecologically minded town

Okayama, Japan
Country:
Japan
Category:
Waste Treatment
Tag:
Cyclic, Bokashi, Compost
In Funao Town, the town government and the residents cooperate to make their lives more sustainable. Kitchen waste is collected from each household and is made into high quality fertilizer using EM Bokashi.
 
Aiming for an ecologically minded town

Funao's Specialities

Funao is a town located on the west bank of a river in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. In the north part, specialty products such as muscats and sweet pea flowers are grown. With the aim of being an ecologically minded town, in 1995, the town built a composting plant for agricultural residue and food waste using EM.

 

Funao Winery
Funao Winery
Sweet Pea Flowers
Sweet Pea Flowers
Muscats
Muscats

Compost Center

At the compost center, they are making organic compost from agricultural residue and domestic food waste, using EM, to creat a clean and comfortable town.

Fist, EM Bokashi is manufactured, using rice bran and Activated EM・1. EM Bokashi is put in bags to distribute to each household.

Kitchen Waste Recycled into Pellets

Primary Treatment with EM Bokashi
Primary Treatment with EM Bokashi
Using the distributed EM Bokashi, each household will do the primary treatment in a bucket. Once the bucket is full, it is put it in front of their house to be collected by the compost center.

The collected waste and agricultural residue are put on belt conveyor to detect and remove metal objects. Then, it is transferred into fermentation tanks to be fermented for a week.

When the fermentation is complete, the compost is pelletized and dried through machine. After packing, "Techno Pellets" are ready. Techno-pellets promotes plant growth because these include many effective microorganisms which effectively react with organic matter in soil. 150 tons of Techno-pellets are made annually and are used to grow flowers, muscats etc in Funao town. Two-thirds are sold outside the town and are used for home gardening and farming.


In Funao Town, EM products play a big roles in environmentally friendly approaches in many scenes. At a local elementary school, Activated EM・1 is poured into their swimming pool. "Techno Pellets" are  utilized in local activities such as growing flowers by town's Environmental Health Council. EM workshops, environmental forums, sessions to make EM soaps are held on a regular basis. These steady activities are what is making the town ecological and sustainable.
Best Conveyer
Best Conveyer
Fermentation Tank
Fermentation Tank
Drying pellets
Drying pellets
Packing
Packing
The Fina Products
The Fina Products
Using Techno Pellets to grow flowers
Using Techno Pellets to grow flowers
This radish was grown in a field using Techno Pellets.
This radish was grown in a field using Techno Pellets.

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