Visit to the Biomass Recycling Center Mitoyo

This is a tour of the Biomass Recycling Center Mitoyo, Japan's first waste treatment facility that converts burnable garbage into solid fuel through an aerobic fermentation and drying method. Mitoyo City has adopted an aerobic fermentation and drying method that ""does not drain water"" based on the concept that garbage is a resource and should not be burned.

At the facility, burnable garbage collected from households and businesses in the city is crushed, and a series of operations are carried out, from fermentation and decomposition of raw waste with the help of microorganisms to sending out the fermentation residue (paper, plastic, etc.) as a raw material for solid fuel. The microorganisms mixed with the raw waste are not special bacteria, etc., but rather fermented and processed refuse that is recycled. The solid fuel is sold to contracted paper mills as an alternative fuel to coal.

Water from the garbage is collected and circulated for sprinkling water to promote fermentation, and since it evaporates during fermentation, there is no drainage from the facility.


・Time required for the programme: 1-2 hours
・Time of year: Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, morning and afternoon sessions, respectively
・Minimum number of participants: More than 4 persons per group
・Maximum number of participants: Less than 20 persons per group (please consult with us for more than 20 persons)
・Price: Materials fee 1,000 yen/person
　*Free of charge for elementary, junior high and high school students, and voluntary groups such as senior citizens' associations and women's associations in Mitoyo City.