Here is a brief sum up of one of our case study with a Japanese company. Initially, the company wanted to find new applications for its product, Wiithaa want a bit further in its propositions.

1. July 2014
How to start
to upcycle
a Japanese company?

2. Context
Methodology
Research
Resultat

3. Context
Methodology
Research
Resultat

4. Region, history, culture
v
Some key elements
Vegetables of Koka include kanpyo
(cucumber for maki), carrot, eggplant,
hahigana salad. Also rice, mochi, sake
(10 centers of fabrication).
There are also 6 main onsens in the
area in the mountains and forest.
Well known for the Lake Biwa and wood
industry. There is an interesting moss
and vegetable culture close by the lake.
Reed, rice and tea culture and a reliable
source of water around the factory.

5. Local, ecosystem, energy
v
Some key elements
Industry in Koka begins around 750
(Emperor Shomu) with leather and metal.
Medicine and plants were well-know in the
region, and also clay work.
Shigaraki pottery is very famous.
Also the Tanuki (symbol of prosperity) is
made in the region.
The region between Kyoto and Osaka /
Nagoya is a crossroad.
Very active industrial region in Japan.
Today, the petrochimical (36%) and
pharmaceutical industry are dominant.
Automobile and electronics are other
industries present in the area.

6. Context about the company
Factory
Raw material Granule Plastic traitment Product
$
Clients
Oil
Y
Orders are decreasing because of more efficient and competitive
new products, therefore the company is looking at diversifying
and releasing its own product.
In the same time, oil price is regularly increasing.

7. What’s the product?
PP or PE. Based on oil.
The company can make some mix with recycled
plastics but the results are not good enough.
A drying room would be needed to use more
biomass plastic to remove the water drops and to
avoid moss.
Machine PlaRain
The heated plastic is turned into liquid with an
extruder. The liquid (or plastic rain) falls into a
waterpool underneath. The effect is an irregular
plastic mesh that is used as filter.
The irregular shape of the material collects
bacteria inside the material. It acts as a great
filter.

8. Main observations
• The material can be mixed with recycled plastic.
• It is an excellent filter and shock absorber.
• It is sensitive to UV depending on the thickness of the product and it is
sensitive to heat as well (around 60°C).
• Quality of the recycled material is bad and can deteriorate the machine.
• It can absorb repetitive shocks and get back to its initial form.
• Micro organisms grow in the water, they eat waste and water is purified.

9. Context
Methodology
Research
Resultat

10. Methodology
> Search and investigations about the company,
its region, product and factory
> Document and photo analysis
> Interviews with the company
> Tests and prototyping

11. Context
Methodology
Research
Resultat

12. Research & tests

13. Which fonctions ?
With
Biodegradable
plastic
Shock absorber in
packagings
In matress
Interior
Decoration
Air plant support
Mattress
Green walls
Green sculptures
Urban gardens
Horticulture
Gardening
Help rooting
with bioplastic
Green walls
Roof gardens
Filter
Potential functions
for the product
Help rooting
with bioplastic

14. The need to focus on bioplastic
As the oil price is growing, we insist on looking for different
kind of plastics.
The company’s ecosystem is interesting and offers several
opportunities to use less and less oil, and finally avoid it.
These opportunities offers different advantages :
> the raw material is cheaper
> the raw material comes from companies waste close to
the factory
> the plastic from biomaterial is much less toxic than
traditionnal ones

15. Produce bioplastic
Plastic made from tea :
tests by the company
Cleaning properties of tea
(good for interior design
especially thanks to
catechine)
Plastic made from algae
Largely available plastic &
algae culture in Japan
Plastic made from reed
(available near Lake Biwa)
This plastic is patented in
France (Biomiscanthus)
Other
materials
With algae
With reeds
With tea

16. Context
Methodology
Research
New application propositions

17. ?
Interior decoration
Interior
Decoration
Air plant support
Mattress
Green walls
Green sculptures

18. Interior decoration
Interior
Decoration
Air plant support
Mattress
Green walls
Green sculptures

19. Interior decoration

20. Application / Game for children
Interior
Decoration
Air plant support
Mattress
Green walls
Green sculptures
PlaRain is a great shock absorber,
we believe it could be perfect for
children to play with it.

21. 2nd application / Game for children
It could become a nice
mattress for a nap. When the
child wake up, he can easily
play with the animals that
formed his temporary bed.
The squared design has 12
animals and do not lose any
PlaRain production.

22. 2nd application / Game for children
For B2B clients like nurseries, it
could be interesting to propose them
a leasing offer.
The company would be able to reuse
all the plastic initially produced to
lower its production cost and have
regular clients.
Factory
Transport
Mattrass
Recycling propositions
Customers

23. Urban gardening
Urban gardens
Horticulture
Gardening
Help rooting
with bioplastic
Green walls
Roof gardens
Filter

24. Roof gardens :
a growing market in main Japanese cities
Since 2000 and the Tokyo
experience, the number of roof
gardens is growing in Japan.
As roof gardens enable to solve
many problems like the city
climate, city air contamination,
isolation for buildings, many
japanese cities encourage now
to create roof gardens.
Fukuoka City

25. Urban gardens
Plants
Substrat
Filter membrane
Drainage
Waterproof/root repellant
Thermal insulation
Vapor control
Roof
Usually, drainage is often
done with stones, which is very heavy and not convenient to set up.
The material could filter the water plants do not need. It is less heavy and
easier to set up.

26. Together,
let’s transform
your waste in
new
opportunities
Brieuc Saffré
brieuc@wiithaa.com
+33 6 43 44 14 58
design + circular economy
Nicolas Buttin
nicolas@wiithaa.com
+33 6 64 13 44 32
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