Shokutowa unites 21 regional partners to recycle food waste into local crops

H2O Retailing Corporation has received a 2026 Good Design Award for Shokutowa, its community food waste recycling initiative.

H2O Retailing runs the initiative across Osaka and Hyogo Prefectures alongside environmental venture Chikyu Labo, creative studio honshoku, and food waste reduction organisation Food Salvage. As of October 2026, 21 partner organisations participate in the regional scheme, including municipal authorities, railway operators, universities, and local farmers. The project originated from a local circularity scheme selected for four consecutive years from 2022 under the Ministry of the Environment’s Zero Food Waste Area Creation Model Project.

Shokutowa addresses food waste and resource circularity through three public programmes designed to encourage everyday community participation. The Shokutowa Compost Challenge engages participants in a three-week experiential routine to convert kitchen food scraps into agricultural compost. Under Shokutowa Cooking, residents and local businesses gather with surplus household and retail ingredients to prepare meals collaboratively. The third programme, Shokutowa Park, operates as an open community workshop to re-evaluate daily consumption habits through guided activities and discussion.

Across 11 rounds of the compost challenge conducted between October 2022 and April 2026, roughly 2,300 participants from approximately 800 households composted a cumulative total of about 2.8 tonnes of food waste. Local partners use the resulting compost to grow agricultural produce within the region. In Osaka Prefecture, the compost fertilises animal feed crops at Satsukiyama Zoo in Ikeda. In Hyogo Prefecture, it supports heirloom vegetable cultivation on a train platform at Kinunobebashi Station on the Nose Electric Railway in Kawanishi, as well as open-field Hokowase strawberry farming in Takarazuka.

H2O Retailing and its operating partners plan to develop further frameworks allowing additional regional businesses, civic groups, and local residents to take part in the food recycling network.