A former city employee in the Fukushima prefecture town of Koriyama has built a 4-meter (13-ft) long canoe from thousands of used disposable chopsticks recovered from the city hall cafeteria. Bothered that perfectly good wood was going to waste after a single use, Shuhei Ogawara — whose job at city hall involved working with the local forestry industry — spent the last two years of his career collecting used chopsticks from the cafeteria. An experienced canoe builder, Ogawara spent over 3 months gluing 7,382 chopsticks together into strips to form the canoe shell, to which he added a polyester resin coat. The canoe weighs about 30 kilograms (66 lbs), which is a bit heavier than an ordinary cedar canoe, but Ogawara is confident it will float. A launching ceremony is planned for May at nearby Lake Inawashiro.

[Source: Asahi]

Employees at the Takashimaya department store in Osaka have created four reproductions of world-famous paintings using 320,000 old train tickets obtained from the nearby Nankai Namba station. The works, which include renditions of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (2.3 x 1.6 meters) and the Birth of Venus, as well as Renoir’s Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, consist of “pixels” formed by overlapping the black and white tickets in intricate patterns. About 300 employees sacrificed their breaks and free time for 3 months to complete the masterpieces, which will be on display at Takashimaya until October 16.

[Source: Asahi]

It takes only a few minutes to down a soft drink, but the plastic bottle it comes in is designed to last for centuries. In the eyes of Kosuke Tsumura, designer for the Final Home brand of urban survival clothing and accessories, the durability and abundance of PET plastic bottles makes them an ideal material for clothing…and armor. At the request of the world’s largest cola cartel, Tsumura made this suit of PET bottle armor by slicing up bottles and sewing the pieces together with transparent nylon thread. The armor may not hold up well in combat, but it looks cool as hell and it won’t biodegrade until long after you are gone.

[Link: Tsumura-Room]

On June 20, NTT Docomo and am/pm Japan announced plans to begin equipping convenience stores with cellphone recycling bins, making it easier for people to recycle their unwanted handsets.

Since 1998, Japan’s wireless providers have been recycling unwanted phones in their own stores for customers who switch models or cancel their contracts. In recent years, however, more and more customers are waiting to recycle their old handsets, as phones have grown more sophisticated and hold greater amounts of important data that users need to access after switching models. Most users eventually decide to dispose of their phones, though, so NTT is hoping they will make use of these recycling bins, which will initially be set up at eight convenience stores in central Tokyo.

The recycling bins, which are designed to prevent people from stealing the cellphones inside, are open to unwanted handsets of all makes and models.

In 2005, NTT harvested 37,993 kg (42 tons) of copper and 145 kg (320 pounds) of gold from old phones.

[Source: MYCOM]

Bio Ethanol Japan Kansai, a company established by Taisei, Daiei Inter Nature System, Marubeni, Sapporo Beer and Tokyo Board Industries, is set to begin commercial production of bioethanol made from wood waste. Opening ceremonies for the Osaka plant, which the company claims is the world’s first of its kind, are scheduled for January 16.

With efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption and growing concern over global warming, worldwide interest in ethanol made from biomass is on the rise. Using wood waste from construction, agriculture, forestry and other sources, Bio Ethanol Japan aims to produce 1,400 kiloliters (370,000 gallons) of ethanol fuel in its initial year, and eventually plans to boost annual production capacity to 4,000 kiloliters (1.06 million gallons). The bioethanol will be mixed with gasoline at a concentration of 3%, helping to reduce fossil fuel consumption and lessen the impact on global warming.

The Ministry of Environment, which provided assistance in establishing the plant, has officially recognized the enterprise as a business model contributing to the reduction of global warming. Environment Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony.

The use of ethanol as an automotive fuel figures prominently into the Japanese government’s Biomass Nippon Strategy, which is designed to promote the production and use of biomass fuel. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, the widespread use of ethanol fuel encourages the recycling of construction-derived wood waste and furthers efforts to create a more recycling-oriented society.

Now, if Bio Ethanol Japan Kansai could figure out a way to make fuel from the 63 million pairs of disposable chopsticks thrown out every day in Japan…

[Source: Fuji Sankei]

Lingerie manufacturer Triumph International Japan has unveiled a new type of brassiere that can be converted into a shopping bag. Called the “No! Shopping Bag Bra” (NO! reji-bukuro bra), the environmentally-friendly lingerie is designed to promote the reduction of plastic bag consumption, a key objective of the revised Containers and Packaging Recycling Law hammered out by Japanese lawmakers in June.

Each year, Japanese shoppers receive an estimated 30 billion plastic shopping bags, which, in terms of the oil resources needed to produce them, amounts to two giant tankers full of oil (millions of barrels). About 30% of these bags are thrown away without being reused, and since the consumption of plastic shopping bags contributes to environmental problems such as increased energy usage, trash buildup, and global warming due to CO2 released in the garbage incineration process, there are urgent calls to reduce their usage.

When the bra is being worn, the “shopping bag” portions are folded away inside the bra cups, where they serve as extra padding. The bra quickly converts to a shopping bag by removing the bag portions from the cups and connecting the hooks on the bra’s underwire. The lace cups serve as decoration along with the shoulder straps, which are disconnected and tied to the top of the bag as ribbons.

The bra — available in red, blue, green, yellow and pink — is made from the Teijin Group’s ECOPET brand of polyester fiber, which has been recycled from plastic bottles through the company’s patented EcoCircle recycling system.

Triumph International Japan has a long history of developing eco-themed bras, with such creations as the Recycle PET Bra (1997), Eco-globe Bra (2004) and Warm Biz Bra (2005).

[Source: Triumph International Japan via Slashdot Japan]

The 2006 Good Design Award for Ecology Design goes to Aimulet LA, a batteryless, light-activated handheld audio communication device with an outer shell made from molded bamboo. The environmentally friendly communication terminal was designed by the Information Technology Research Institute at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

The name “Aimulet” is derived from the word “amulet” plus the letter “i,” which denotes “intelligent,” “interactive” and “infrared,” as well as “ai” (which means “love” in Japanese and refers to Aichi prefecture, the location of the 2005 World Expo). The initials “LA” stand for none other than Laurie Anderson, whose Walk Project installation for the 2005 World Expo featured the Aimulet LA. Visitors to the installation used the device to receive audio messages as they wandered the site.

Aimulet LA is designed to be held up to your ear like a cellphone. When you stand over special LED emitters set into the ground, Aimulet LA receives the light signals via an array of spherical micro solar cells (called Sphelar by manufacturer Kyosemi) set into the bottom of the handset. Aimulet LA translates the signals into audio messages that are transmitted through a tiny speaker in the device. In Laurie Anderson’s installation, visitors used Aimulet LA to listen to poems in four different languages as they strolled through a Japanese-style garden.

According to AIST, the technology at work in Aimulet LA can be put to use in public spaces such as outdoor exhibits and events, amusement facilities, train stations and parks, where it can be used in interactive media or entertainment. In addition, the low cost of the device means it could also double as an entrance ticket, annual pass or ID card.

The Good Design Award judges gave high marks to Aimulet LA’s design concept for its ingenious blend of new technology and natural materials. The device also earned points for its lack of external power source, a factor that contributes to the creation of a battery-free environment. Being light-activated also makes it highly versatile, and its use of bamboo makes it easily recyclable and environmentally friendly.

This award marks the first time for AIST to receive a Good Design Award in Ecology Design. AIST previously received a Good Design Award for Paro, the cuddly seal robot recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most therapeutic robot.

Check out the Good Design Award page for more amazing designs.

[Source: AIST press release, AIST paper (English, pdf format)]

Plenus Co., Ltd., which operates Japan’s nationwide take-out bento chain Hokka Hokka Tei (a.k.a. Hokka Hokka Bento, or Hokka-ben) and Yayoiken restaurants, has unveiled plans to begin recycling the used cooking oil from its 2,400 branches into fuel for its delivery vehicles. According to the plan slated for launch in January 2007, the company will establish 6 refining facilities in 3 years with the capability of producing 3.3 million liters (870,000 gallons) of fuel from 3.7 million liters (975,000 gallons) of used cooking oil — enough to fuel its entire fleet of delivery vehicles, Plenus claims.

Discarded cooking oil makes for a viable alternative to diesel once it is mixed with methanol and refined into biodiesel. After the refining process, the fuel will be supplied to the company’s 300 diesel delivery trucks through a network of independent filling stations.

Plenus will establish the initial refinery base in Fukuoka in January 2007 with 130 million yen (US$1.1 million) in capital. Subsequent refineries will be established in Saitama, Yamanashi and Miyagi prefectures, and in Hokkaido and Osaka. The company hopes to establish an efficient fuel supply system and cut overall fuel costs.

[Source: Nikkei Net]

Japanese scientists researching the prospects of long-term human settlements on Mars are dreaming up ways to address the challenges of Martian agriculture. At a recent meeting of the Japan Geoscience Union held in Chiba, Professor Masamichi Yamashita (58) of the Japan Aeropsace Exploration Agency (JAXA) unveiled a unique space agriculture concept that would liven up the rather mundane task of cultivating rice in greenhouse domes. In his concept, settlers would plant mulberry trees and breed silkworms, the pupae of which would be consumed as a source of animal protein.

“Japan has the unique advantage of calling into play its excellent silk cultivation technology and long-established culinary culture,” says Yamashita, who has been studying the subject since January 2005. As part of his research, Professor Yamashita has met with about 70 experts in fields ranging from medicine to agriculture to food science. “Space agriculture research is about the pursuit of near-complete recycling inside domes, something that can also be applied to safe organic agriculture on Earth,” he says.

With trips to Mars taking 18 months each way, settlers will not be able to rely on frequent supply shipments from Earth. A self-sufficient supply of oxygen and food will be essential to the succes of any lengthy stay on Mars. The thin Martian atmosphere and a sunlight intensity half that on Earth pose additional agricultural challenges, and the unwillingness to taint the search for extraterrestrial life with microorganism-laden human and animal waste demands a rigorous recycling program.

Yamashita’s concept involves the construction of transparent resin domes where rice, beans, potatoes, and mulberries are grown in soil consisting of a mixture of Martian sand and compost material. The plants would generate oxygen inside the domes, and the mulberry leaves would serve as food for the silkworms. The settlers could then either eat the silkworm pupae directly or use them as food for fish and poultry they raise.

“When cooked, silkworm pupae taste like shrimp or crab meat,” says Professor Yamashita. “People all over Japan ate them during the food shortages after World War II, and you can still buy canned pupae in Nagano prefecture.”

[Source: Nishinippon Shimbun]

On April 24, Hitachi Maxell announced the development of a fuel cell battery that relies on water and aluminum to generate electricity.

Measuring 16 (H) x 10 (W) x 6 (D) cm (6 x 4 x 2.5 inches), the simple, low-cost device produces an average of 10 watts of power. The company claims to be working on developing it as a power source with up to 100 watts of power, and they hope to see the fuel cell use recycled aluminum scrap.

The device is described as a type of proton-exchange membrane fuel cell that generates power by combining hydrogen with oxygen in the air. Separate cartridges contain aluminum and water, and hydrogen is generated as water is gradually added to the aluminum. With 20 grams (0.7 ounce) of aluminum, a laptop can be powered for 4 to 5 hours.

[Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Hitachi Maxell press release]