Fukuoka Prefecture’s Oki Town strives for a recycling-based society

Global warming and climate change was something Oki Town in Kyushu’s Fukuoka Prefecture couldn’t ignore. The town announced “Climate Emergency Declaration” in 2019, and this spring they even created a roadmap to aim for a low-carbon society by 2050. The town is making immense efforts to building a recycling-based sustainable society that doesn’t leave the burden on the next generation.

The initiative all started when Oki Town—with a population of 14,000—realized that its incinerator costs were soaring due to their increasing garbage. The town didn’t think twice to act, however. In 2006, they built biomass recycling facility “The Oki Recycling Center Kururun,” which takes kitchen waste from the town’s households and restaurants, along with septic tank sludge and raw sewage, and uses a methane fermentation process to turn it into a biogas that can be used for power generation. Up to 80% of the facility’s electricity is covered by the system. Moreover, 15 tons of liquid fertilizer produced by decomposition every day is provided free of charge to farmers in the town, thereby creating a cycle in which kitchen waste is returned to the soil as fertilizers.

The constructing of “Kururun” no doubt raised the awareness of Oki residents. In 2008, Oki Town announced “Oki Town Mottainai Declaration,” the second in the country to make a zero-waste declaration. Oki residents have since been making effort to separating their waste. Now, residents separates garbage into 29 types!

And that’s not all. The town is even working on recycling disposable diapers from households. The collected diapers are recycled as construction materials. The town is currently collecting roughly 100 tons of diapers a year, which number is expected to increase in the future with their residents gradually aging.

Due to these efforts, the amount of waste incinerated in the town has decreased by 60% from its peak. In addition, processing costs which were roughly 230 million yen, have been reduced to about 27 million yen in average over the past 13 years. In addition, this spring, the waste recycling rate of Oki Town in fiscal 2019 announced by the Ministry of the Environment was 65.3%—sixth in the country. It greatly leads the average recycling rate of 21% of municipalities in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Currently, Oki Town is focusing on how they can improve their plastic recycling. Last year, four cities—Okawa, Chikugo, Yanagawa, and Miyama—launched the Fukuoka Chikugo Plastic Recycling Group Council with the aim to realize a society of virtually zero greenhouse gas emission. Plastics they collect include toys and stationery, and last year—together with Omuta City, which joined the Council—they succeeded in collecting a total amount of 1145 tons of plastic, which local traders oil and reuse.

Furthermore, this spring the town formulated a three-stage roadmap for a low-carbon society with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emission to virtually zero by 2050. This year—to mark its first step—7 public facilities including the town hall will be connected by a self-employed line for power supply. Should a disaster happen, the system activates a system to supply electricity to evacuation shelters for 48 hours from solar power generation and large storage batteries. “Kururun,” which can generate electricity at night, is among the power generating spots.

Despite their incredible efforts, the town is calling out to its townspeople to look for places where they can recycle further and seek an even more energy-saving lifestyle. What an excellent sustainable town! Oki Town is sure to become a role model for towns seeking to be sustainable in the future.