The Organic Civil Engineering Association and Ishizaka Inc. are collaborating to create a “regenerative infrastructure” by utilizing recycled materials made from industrial waste.

The Organic Civil Engineering Association (headquarters: Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; Representative Director: Takada Hiroomi), a general incorporated association that aims to build infrastructure that is in harmony with the autonomous workings of nature, and Ishizaka Inc. (headquarters: Miyoshi Town, Saitama Prefecture; President: Ishizaka Noriko), an industrial waste recycler, have decided to collaborate on the “Organic Civil Engineering® x Ishizaka Model,” supplying recycled materials made from industrial waste as construction materials for Organic Civil Engineering® (*1).

The modern civil engineering and construction industry consumes large quantities of existing building materials for large-scale developments and disaster recovery and reconstruction projects. This, in turn, leads to the devastation of forest environments caused by the mining and disposal of raw materials. Furthermore, as the shift to a circular economy is called for, the industrial waste disposal industry is facing challenges not only in increasing recycling rates through thorough waste sorting and classification, but also in increasing the value and expanding the scope of use of recycled materials. 

In response to these challenges, the Organic Civil Engineering Association (OCE) aims to implement Organic Civil Engineering®, which primarily uses organic materials that return to the soil (coniferous wood, broadleaf twigs, fascine, logs, fallen leaves, bamboo charcoal, rice husk charcoal, rice straw, roof tiles, natural stone, concrete debris, and asphalt chips) and makes them available in various locations .
Ishizaka Inc. views industrial waste as a resource and is actively developing products using recycled materials, including research into returning it to the soil rather than sending it to landfills.

Aiming to realize a society where resources and materials are commonly used and recycled, the company is now supplying recycled materials such as recycled crushed stone, concrete rubble, roof tile chips, and wood chips to civil engineering sites undertaken by the Organic Civil Engineering Association. This will enable the implementation of the “Organic Civil Engineering® x Ishizaka Model,” which aims to create “regenerative infrastructure” by enabling a locally rooted recycling system without using new global resources.

Currently, Ishizaka Inc. is supplying recycled materials such as roof tiles and crushed stone to the “Nasu Town Development Plaza” (*2) (Nasu Town Development Co., Ltd., Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture), where the Organic Civil Engineering Association is providing construction support, to improve water retention in soil that has hardened due to soil improvement agents and compaction. Previously, natural stone and concrete debris were used on sites prone to puddles and mud. By creating an environment where rainwater can penetrate the soil and recharge through culverts and rainwater drainage systems, the subsurface environment is improved, enabling not only humans but also a diverse range of living things, including plants, to live healthily.

▲Nasu Town Development Plaza (Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture)　

▲Left: Ishizaka Inc.’s recycling plant; Center: Recycled materials (tiles); Right: Recycled materials (crushed stone). 

Through collaboration between the Organic Civil Engineering Association and Ishizaka Inc., we are shining a spotlight on items that are often discarded or abandoned. We actively incorporate recycled materials and local materials obtained through land recycling, aiming for “reverse development” that revitalizes the environment, climate, and culture inherent to the region and land. By combining Organic Civil Engineering® with resource recycling, we will foster healthy and fertile land and work toward a society in which all global resources are recycled.

 *1) Organic Civil Engineering® : 
A perspective and construction method that inherits the wisdom of traditional civil engineering, which has stabilized the land environment without damaging it, and builds infrastructure that is in harmony with the autonomous workings of nature. By constructing the construction so that the construction itself changes organically while maintaining a state of equilibrium, it has the potential to preserve the richness of diverse ecosystems, including humans. [Organic Civil Engineering Association, General Incorporated Association] https://organiccivilengineering.org/

*2) Nasu Town Development Plaza: A symbiotic community established by Nasu Town Development Co., Ltd. to put into practice “100-year community development,” a new base for an aging society with a declining birthrate, centered around elderly housing. https://nasuhiroba.com/

■Contact information 
Organic Civil Engineering Association, General Incorporated Association (Public Relations Officer, Earth Protection, NPO)
info@chikyumori.org 

Ishizaka Inc. 
info@ishizaka-group.co.jp