METI achieves 99.7% resource circulation at Expo 2025 Circular Economy Lab

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced earlier this month that its Circular Economy Lab exhibition at Expo 2025 Osaka achieved a resource circulation rate of 99.7% for construction materials. It has demonstrated circular economy principles is possible within the event and exhibition industry.

The exhibition took place from 23 to 29 September 2025 and attracted approximately 58,000 visitors. It aimed to raise awareness of Japan’s circular technologies while moving away from the traditional linear economy model of “make, use, and dispose.” By integrating circularity into the design phase, the project exceeded its initial resource circulation target of 99.6%.

To reach the 99.7% figure, the organisers prioritised the use of rental and reused components for the majority of the installation. For materials that required new procurement, the team selected items that were easy to recycle. A critical strategy was pre-designing the recycling route, identifying exactly where and how each material would be processed after the event concluded.

Following the exhibition, all materials were sorted, weighed, and assigned QR codes. This digital traceability system allowed for the precise management of resources from collection to final recycling. The data confirmed that the vast majority of materials entered reuse or material recycling streams, with only a minimal fraction diverted to incineration for energy recovery.

The demonstration resulted in a reduction of 17.74 tonnes of CO2 emissions compared to a conventional event using new timber and standard construction methods. This reduction is equivalent to the volume of approximately 17.4 million 500ml plastic bottles. The results validate the effectiveness of circular design in significantly lowering the environmental footprint of large-scale public events.

While the project proved the technical feasibility of near-zero waste events, METI identified operational challenges, including an increase in workload due to the complexity of the circular design process. The ministry intends to use the insights gained from this demonstration to refine circular production methods and promote their adoption across the wider event industry.