Toys play an important role in the emotional and cognitive development of children. This study aims to clarify the meaning of toys in a recycling-oriented society. When children first begin to play with toys, it is important for adults (e.g. parents, teachers etc.) to teach them the importance of recycling toys. Stuffed toys are known to alleviate the sense of loss children may feel independence from the close parent-child relationship before children begin to develop human relationships through peer interactions. Toys play a hidden role as emotional stabilizers and stress relievers, even for adults. In the stage of imitative play behavior, items that would otherwise be thrown away can be used as toys. Individuals who play with recycled items as toys during childhood, especially in the field of childcare and educational activities, are more likely to take part in recycling in daily life as adults. Therefore, when children are given recycled items as toys it is also necessary to provide them with adequate information about recycling. For all children, including those with disabilities, it will be necessary to provide toys with additional functions or toys that can be easily modified to suit the needs of each individual.

View full abstract

Tokyo Toy Museum has a wide range of activities that demonstrate the benefits of coming into contact with wood and the various ways it can be implemented. The Museum has two main purposes : First is to show how wood holds a natural essence that has a healing value for adults and aids in the wholesome growth of children. Secondly is to foster citizens who appreciate trees and forests and have an interest in developing a society in which their actions and thoughts are part of a recycle-based, circulatory society. In order to develop people who care about trees and forests, they need to have more opportunities to come into contact with items such as wooden toys and grow to love wood and make it a part of their lives. In order to raise citizens with these sorts of values, we believe that our various approachpes are a first step towards building a recycling-oriented society, with as many people as possible becoming wiser consumers who understand the significance of demonstrating how forests can serve multiple functions.

View full abstract

«Kaekko» was developed by the artist Hiroshi Fuji. It is a style of play-shopping where children learn to reuse their toys in a reasonable way. «Kaekko» introduces a “children′s currency” called “frog points.” A host buys toys that the children play with, and in the same way, children can also buy toys that other children have brought by using the frog points they have accumulated. The number of people hosting «Kaekko» events is increasing steadily throughout Japan ; this is due to its simple attractiveness : It is not simply a barter system nor do participants need to use any legal currency. Hosts can present frog points to children not only for their toys, but also for participating in volunteer activities or educational workshops set up by the hosts on things they are concerned about. In this report, we introduce how two institutions and one group have used «Kaekko» as a means of supporting their own environmental activities and the furthering of environmental education. The paper also makes general reference to the current situation of toys in Japan.

View full abstract

Mobile phones were originally designed to offer users only the call function. With the continued addition of various functions, however, mobiles have greatly evolved, from being merely a “calling device” to a “convenient tool.” And recently, it even offers users various functions as an “entertainment tool.”
Users can get some of these mobile phone functions even without access to mobile phone networks. It has actually led to replace the need for certain consumer goods, such as digital cameras, and has eventually led to a reduction in resource consumption and discarded products. Efficient collection of discarded equipment and resource recovery from the collected equipment can contribute to the reduction in resource consumption. However, many mobile phones are still not being collected, neither being used as “convenience tools” nor as “entertainment tools”.
In order to efficiently collect and recycle these uncollected small equipment, a new recycling system is discussed. In this system, municipalities are expected to play an important role in collection. The collected appliances would then be handed over to certified businesses for recycling.
Second-hand mobile phones or parts reusing businesses are gradually expanding both domestically and abroad. Multi-functionalization of mobile phones can be said to have a positive influence on its 3Rs, but many issues are still left to address concerning illegal reuse and imitation products.

View full abstract

Regulatory systems concerning the safety of toys in Japan, Europe, and the USA are summarized in this paper. The basic concept for regulation of toy safety covers three main hazard areas for protection: mechanical and physical, flammability, and chemicals. Although the essential requirements for each country vary slightly, these three aspects are the same for all. The targeted hazardous substances include Cd, Pb and phtharate esters in Japan ; 8 heavy metals (Sb, As, Ba, Cd, Pb, Cr, Hg, Se) in Europe ; and Pb and phtharate esters in the USA. The age group for the products being targeted is also somewhat different for each country : under 6 in Japan, under 14 in Europe, and under 12 in the USA. There has been a worldwide focus on improving toy safety regulations since 2007, when a mass recall of toys from China took place. The movement to regulate the safety of toys continues to grow.

View full abstract

A power generation plant was built at the Nasu-kogen Service Area, located on the Tohoku Express Way. At the plant, fuel gas is obtained through pyrolysis of waste materials.
The plant is similar to what is found in the chemical industry because it consists of such unit processes as drying, pyrolysis and power generation. The plant produces renewable electric power from solid waste materials.
This paper presents an outline of the four stages of process development : the first stage is the bench-scale plant ; the second stage is the pilot plant ; the third stage is the test plant ; and the fourth stage is the commercial plant.

View full abstract