Reusable Toner Cartridges: Building a practical pathway from disposable printing to reuse

On 2026/1/28

We have added a new circular project “Reusable Toner Cartridges” in our database. The Reusable Toner Cartridges is a long-running initiative by Hara Trading Co., Ltd., based in Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama, that offers a concrete alternative to disposable office printing supplies. Since 1994, the company has been collecting spent genuine toner cartridges, carefully inspecting and […]

Upcycled Stationery Crafted from Discontinued Nautical Charts: From retired sea maps to everyday treasures

On 2026/1/6

Old sea maps still have stories to tell. This “Discontinued Nautical Chart Stationery” project by X-Port Co., Ltd. gives discontinued nautical charts a second life as beautifully crafted stationery and sundries. Once essential for safe navigation, these charts are regularly retired as coastlines and sea conditions change. Instead of becoming waste, they’re transformed into envelopes, […]

The Repair Cafe screened at TBS SDGs event “Plaza to Make the Earth Smile”

On 2025/6/3

Circular Yokohama and our sister media IDEAS FOR GOOD screened its documentary The Repair Cafe on May 4 at the SDGs event “Plaza to Make the Earth Smile” held at TBS Akasaka Sacas Square. “Plaza to Make the Earth Smile” is part of TBS’s “WEEK to Make the Earth Smile” project, a related initiative designed […]

[Monthly Update: September, 2022] Circular Design Sprint Gives Us a Question “Does material have to be material?”

On 2022/10/18

The weather is getting colder day by day here in Yokohama, Japan. In September, we updated our collaboration with Kanagawa University. Here is the detail of the current and exciting project. Circular Design Sprint @UK Circular Design Sprint is a 3-day activity that aims to acquire circular design systems and thinking, presented by 「IDEAS FOR […]

Can DX be a solution to the problem with plastic containers? [Experience Report]

On 2022/1/5

On March 13, 2021, we held an idea-thon online under the topic of “Circular Economy and Digital Transformation (DX).” This time we specifically focused on the issue of plastic takeout containers and discussed how we could circulate the containers instead of wasting them. *This event is part of Circular Economy Plus School, which is organized […]

Yokohama local plastic waste turns out to be a unique asset [Experience Report]

On 2021/11/12

On Saturday, February 27, 2021, we held a workshop at haishop cafe in Bashamichi to up-cycle plastic waste into new products. We cooperated with Mr. Terukuni Hayashi and Ms. Sayumi Tadokoro from Technolab Inc., which runs the ocean plastic upcycling brand “buøy.” *This event is part of Circular Economy Plus School, which is organized by […]

Discovering the unknown aspects of the city through community cleanup activity with greenbird [Experience Report]

On 2021/10/21

“greenbird” is a trash pickup project originating from Omotesando, Harajuku in Tokyo, which was born with the concept of “a clean city makes people’s hearts clean.” There are over 60 greenbird teams all over Japan and 7 teams overseas. Each area takes the initiative in carrying out local cleanup activities. Circular Yokohama collaborated with the […]

Recycling business bridge the gap between administrations and citizens: Yokohama City Resource Recycling Business Cooperative

On 2020/10/2

Have you ever heard of the word “Earth Overshoot Day?” It is a day that marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds nature’s budget in that year. Unfortunately, Earth Overshoot Day has been getting earlier year by year. It is time we had to take action […]