According to the company’s website news release on March 7, 2023, Marubeni Corporation (“Marubeni”) has been selected to participate in the Co-Design Challenge, a special program for companies involved in the management of the Japan International Exposition, 2025 (hereinafter, “Osaka-Kansai Expo”), which was publicly solicited by the Japan Association for the International Exposition, 2025.
The Co-Design Challenge is a new co-creation project based on the concept of using the Osaka-Kansai Expo as an opportunity to shape the future lifestyle of Japan (in cities). edish will be used for serving food and drinks during the Expo. Used edish will also be collected and composted together with food scraps generated at the Expo to be used as a soil conditioner.
edish is a recycling-oriented tableware born from Marubeni’s Business Plan Contest held in FY2019. With the vision of “creating a recycling-oriented society for the next generation,” edish uses proprietary technology to upcycle* food waste materials such as food peels, which could hardly be used until now, into tableware. Marubeni also aims to upcycle them a second time by composting edish collected after use to nourish soil and return them as vegetables and flowers, making them available for consumption once again. Currently, the system has been introduced to more than 100 companies and event organizations.
In March 2021, Marubeni formulated its long-term vision for climate change and positioned green strategy as one of the basic policies to enhance corporate value in its mid-term management strategy “GC2024.” Marubeni will continue to use and collect edish made from food waste and aim to reduce CO2 emissions by realizing resource recycling without incineration.
* One of the new methodologies for sustainable manufacturing. The ultimate goal is to create products that are more valuable than the original products, rather than traditional recycling (turning materials into raw materials and reusing them).
Related News
Releases: September 16, 2021:Ministry of the Environment Adopts Proof of Concept for “edish” Upcycled Tableware: Realizing an Upcycle from Tableware Collection to Composting and Vegetable Cultivation https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2021/release/00081.html
July 30, 2020:
Ministry of the Environment Adopts “edish,” a Recycling-Oriented Tableware, for a Demonstration Project: After Use, It Can Be Used as Feed or Fertilizer, Making It Easy for Anyone to Contribute to the Upcycling of Tableware
https://www.marubeni.com/jp/news/2020/release/20200730J.pdf
Official website of “edish” (in Japanese) https://edish-jp.com/
