Japanese Food Company Develops Eco-Friendly Plastic Made from Kongbiji... Waste Reduction

Sagamiya Food, Develops Soy Pulp Plastic
Reduces Waste Rate and Enables Resource Circulation, Gaining Attention

A major Japanese tofu manufacturing company has developed a technology to produce plastic from okara, the soybean pulp generated during the manufacturing process, drawing significant attention. This innovation allows for the large-scale recycling of okara, which had been difficult to dispose of as industrial waste, and the plastic made from okara is receiving positive evaluations for being eco-friendly due to its plant-derived components.

On the 28th, Asahi Shimbun introduced the okara plastic developed by Sagamiya Shokuryo Co., Ltd. Sagamiya Shokuryo is a major tofu manufacturer that develops and sells various tofu products, including the cheese-textured "Beyond Tofu."

Okara plastic was born out of efforts to reduce the disposal rate of okara. The company uses about 53,000 tons of soybeans annually to produce tofu, and the amount of okara generated during the manufacturing process is said to be roughly equal to the amount of soybeans used, according to Sagamiya Shokuryo. While the company recycles okara into other foods like pancake mix, animal feed, and cat litter, the volume is so large that one-third of it was often discarded as industrial waste.

Junji Toriko, president of Sagamiya Shokuryo, presenting plastic raw materials made from okara. (Photo by Maebashi City YouTube)

Junji Torigoe, president of Sagamiya Shokuryo, stated, "Okara contains a lot of moisture, making it prone to discoloration and mold, so its practical uses have been limited. Finding a recycling method has been a long-standing challenge in the industry."

While exploring recycling methods for okara, the company began to focus on biomass plastics made from plant-derived raw materials. Five years ago, they started developing pellets for plastic raw materials using okara as the main ingredient, and succeeded in development this spring. The process involves drying the okara, grinding it into powder, and mixing it with synthetic resin to produce plastic.

This plastic is characterized by containing more than half okara. During product development, the company focused on increasing the okara content to 51%. When the content exceeds half, these pellets are classified as food processing materials made from processed okara rather than plastic when disposed of. This effectively enables resource recycling.

Sagamiya Shokuryo's soybean pulp plastic flowerpot 'Biji Pot'. (Photo by Sagamiya Shokuryo)

Sagamiya Shokuryo currently sells flowerpots made from okara plastic called "Okara Pot" for 1,400 yen (about 12,700 won). The company explains that since the flowerpots contain nutrients from the okara, they are expected to promote plant growth.

The okara plastic is currently patent-pending and is planned to be used in garbage bags and tofu containers sold by the company in the future. President Torigoe said, "I want to turn things considered unnecessary into things people want," adding, "Our ultimate goal is to achieve zero okara disposal rate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.