How Kayama Kogyo leads Japan’s recycling revolution

With innovative recycling techniques, educational outreach and partnerships abroad, Japan’s Kayama Kogyo has evolved from a waste processor to a guardian of environmental sustainability.

Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. How does a waste disposal company grow into an environmental solutions company? Ask the folks at Kayama Kogyo, a Japan-based industrial waste processor which has spent its 73 years of operation constantly learning, improving and innovating in a changing world.

In 1951, Isao Kayama witnessed the incredible amount of trash generated by Japan’s postwar industrial boom. Concerned by a lack of infrastructure to handle this growing waste mountain, Kayama saw an opportunity to make an impact and founded Kayama Kogyo.

Today, Kayama’s grandson Junichiro Kayama is ceo and continuing his grandfather’s mission of ensuring a prosperous future through proper waste disposal. The company acknowledges its responsibility to adapt to increasing environmental concerns. ‘Incinerating and landfilling is no longer enough,’ explains Kayama. ‘We need to recycle and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.’

WIDE RANGE

Kayama Kogyo’s facilities process a wide range of materials from industrial and construction waste to copper wire and wood. Materials are sorted and processed to create sellable metals, paper chips, and fuel from waste plastic and paper. Remaining materials and other hazardous materials are incinerated in-house. Currently 80% of incoming material is recycled. ‘We are doing everything we can to make that figure 100%,’ declares Kayama.

To effectively handle its incoming waste, the company operates three SSI shredders. Two dual-shear shredders, the M120 and the larger M140, break down incoming industrial and construction waste to improve the flow for the sorting equipment downstream.

A Quad Q100 four-shaft shredder at Kayama’s new facility efficiently provides both a primary shred and uniform particle size reduction in one machine.

Asked why he opted for SSI shredders in his facility, Junichiro Kayama points to similarities between SSI and Kayama that created a natural partnership. ‘We do our best to innovate. We felt that SSI was similar in always innovating and improving their shredders.’

Outside of a shared dedication to innovation, SSI also provides Kayama with the ability to maintain production as waste materials change.

‘There are more and more materials that are hard to shred [and they] continue to increase,’ Kayama reveals. ‘After extensive research, we came to the conclusion that the SSI shredders were the best units for difficult material.’

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN

Kayama Kogyo goes beyond waste management: it is also dedicated to protecting the environment. To prove this commitment, it began a beekeeping project at its incinerator facility. Bees are an indicator species and any pollutants in the surrounding environment would be detectible in the honey.

To study the impact of the incinerator, the honey is tested regularly for contaminants. To date, the honey continues to test free of any pollutants.

As with the beekeeping project, Kayama Kogyo continues to employ diverse and creative strategies for raising environmental and recycling awareness. Its mascot, a dinosaur character named Torano san, appears on local television programmes to educate children on how to reduce waste and on the impacts of recycling.

Kayama also supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the ceo speaks at businesses and universities on sustainable recycling practices.

Kayama Kogyo wants to use its expertise to assist countries that are still developing their waste disposal infrastructure. In Laos, it has partnered with local companies in the effective and safe management of hazardous materials. As Kayama looks towards the future, it sees its role as teachers and innovators, using its 73 years of experience to accelerate the development of a more sustainable world.