Japan – Mos Food Services recycles food waste into methane gas

Japanese Mos Food Services, Inc., a major Japanese burger chain with 1,467 stores across the country and 120 stores overseas is actively promoting the recycling of food waste. Japan for Sustainability reports that the company announced on September 14, 2004 that it has started recycling food waste and warehouse waste (used packaging material such as cardboard boxes and plastic bags) in the Kanto region (Tokyo and six neighboring prefectures).



The food waste includes products that are unsellable due to breakage or damage and a portion of expired food products, and amounted to nearly 0.14 percent of the total annual food purchases of all chain stores in fiscal 2003.



In the Kanto Region, about 26 tons of food and warehouse waste from Mos Food have been processed at the Chiba Biogas Center operated by Japan Recycling Co. Food waste is recycled into methane gas based on Japan‘‘s Food Recycling Law and used as fuel at a steel mill next to the center.



In the Kinki and Chubu regions (western and central Japan), the company has been recycling food waste into animal feed since 2003 in cooperation with Kyoto Prefecture‘‘s Yasuda Sangyo Co., which has one of the largest food recycling plants in Japan. Mos Food expects about 50 percent of the total annual warehouse waste from its chain stores will be recycled at the two plants in the Kanto and Kinki regions