We can compete effectively by making a more functional product at a lower price. No matter how environmentally friendly you are, you can't keep manufacturing and recycling unless people want to buy your product. A recycling project works best when all parties involved in the project have an interest in achieving the same goal. Crystal Clay Co. has adopted an unusual but very effective approach - it chose as its stockholders 57 companies that are directly involved in some part of the recycling process. Some produce and market alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages in glass bottles, some are wholesalers of alcoholic drinks, while others are waste glass collectors, clay suppliers, tile manufacturers with established sales channels, or construction companies which use tile blocks.
All stockholders have a stake in one part of the recycling process.
They are involved in different types of business, but they all contribute to a recycling process that flows from one step to the next. This innovative, integrated approach is attracting attention from municipal governments in Japan and abroad. The company receives many requests from organizations that want to observe its methods, collaborate with it, and learn how to develop new materials from waste. Bottles and other glass waste are collected from local government facilities and liquor stores, then taken to the factory. After unwanted parts are removed, the glass is pulverized into fragments or powder, then mixed with clay.