The two primary methods of waste disposal today—incineration and landfill —have significant environmental, economic and social drawbacks. Incineration, for example, generates toxic by-products such as dioxin, while landfills often pose a major health risk to surrounding communities, especially in Japan where availability of land for landfills is limited. Conventional methods to process waste, which frequently produce additional waste and require secondary treatment, are also inefficient and labor- and energy-intensive.

The Soka University project aims to eliminate organic waste at their source of origin (at manufacturing sites, for example) through an innovative processing system known as two-phase solid-liquid circulation method. Another merit of the process is that it recovers methane gas to be used as an energy source without releasing secondary waste. A patent is pending, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as well as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, have fast-tracked the project for government support and sponsorship.

Prof. Toda, an authority on restoration ecology, says he drew upon nature’s ability to recycle waste when developing the new processing method. “As the Earth Summit reaffirmed, restoration and sustainable use of the ecosystem is a crucial challenge that humanity must address,” he explains. “There is an urgency to the search for solutions. And it is vital that students—who bear the future on their shoulders—and researchers engage in this search by expanding their knowledge base to the best of their abilities, with an impassioned sense of purpose.”

The Soka team is comprised of nine researchers, including Tatsushi Matsuyama, professor of chemical engineering, and microbiology professor Norio Kurosawa. General contractor Shimizu Corporation and venture company Seawell Co. Ltd. are collaborative partners.