Closed loop rice project links JR East stations farms and restaurants

The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) Group announced an expansion of its circular economy programme, creating a closed-loop system that turns food waste from its stations into rice served at its own restaurants. The initiative “Agricultural Recycling Loop” is now active in the Tokyo metropolitan and Sendai areas.

The programme is part of JR East’s commitment to promoting a circular economy and achieving a sustainable and prosperous global environment. Part of that commitment is to address the challenge of food waste generated in the numerous retail and dining facilities located within its station network.

In the Tokyo area, JR East Cross Station Co., Ltd. (JR-Cross) sends food waste from its facilities to the recycling company J Bio Food Recycle Co., Ltd. The company processes the waste into fertiliser, which is then used by Someno Green Farm in Ibaraki Prefecture to cultivate “Niji no Kirameki” rice. The harvested rice is milled by Hyakusho Ichiba Co., Ltd. and supplied to the restaurant Nomono Izakaya “Kayoiji” at Ueno Station. The restaurant will feature the rice in all its rice-based dishes for three weeks starting 20 November.

A similar, hyper-local loop is established in the Sendai area. Food waste from commercial facilities operated by Sendai Terminal Building Co., Ltd. is recycled into fertiliser by Tohoku Bio Food Recycle Co., Ltd. This fertiliser is used by Suzuki Organic Farm, a local producer in Sendai, to grow “Sasanishiki” rice. The rice is then served at the restaurant Sushi Tetsu, located within the S-PAL Sendai shopping centre, creating a self-contained, local production and consumption model.

By expanding this initiative, JR East aims to further its “Double Recycle Loop” concept, which also includes generating electricity from waste. The company plans to continue collaborating with agricultural producers to broaden the variety of crops grown using the recycled fertiliser and to establish more local loops.