ChopValue: Turning Disposable Culture into a Circular Economy Opportunity

(Interviewed in January 2026)

The move aligns with Japan's broader green-growth agenda. In 2025, the government adopted the Green Transformation (GX) 2040 Vision—a medium- to long-term national strategy to achieve decarbonization while promoting economic growth through the creation of new demand and markets.

ChopValue's long-term ambition in Japan is national in scope, but execution began with a single Microfactory. After an extensive search across the Tokyo–Yokohama corridor, the company selected Nakahara Ward in Kawasaki City as the site for its first Japanese facility.

"Our overall intention in Japan is to be nationwide. However, we have to start somewhere," Soback says. "The Nakahara Ward facility became available, and we immediately applied and were successful."

Kawasaki City, known for its thriving manufacturing industry, is pursuing a vision of becoming a sustainable, green-innovation city that harmonizes the environment and the economy. The city's efforts to realize a circular economy through the creation of environment-related businesses, combined with its focus on international cooperation, align perfectly with ChopValue's mission, making it the ideal location for the first Microfactory.

The facility is designed to process up to 25 million chopsticks per year, converting them into modular materials used for furniture, wall paneling, and architectural applications. The facility reflects ChopValue's Microfactory concept: compact, self-contained, and deeply embedded in the local community.

One of the biggest hurdles ChopValue faced in Japan was not technical, but regulatory—specifically, the question of how used chopsticks can be collected, and by whom.

"This business is built around collection, and right now disposable chopsticks in Japan are considered waste," Soback explains. "Waste law is generally controlled at the city (municipal) level."

To address the issue, ChopValue worked closely with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Kawasaki City Government, and community partners to reframe chopsticks as a recyclable resource under a pilot research framework. "Like any startup, there will be challenges along the way," Soback explains. "The partnership that we've been able to develop with Kawasaki City has been amazing."

Patience, he adds, is essential. "You have to be prepared for the long game in Japan. You cannot expect things to move extremely quickly. But once it starts to move, it moves."

JETRO played a central role in ChopValue's market entry—both structurally and strategically.

The organization, Soback says, provided "really key introductions to potential business partners," including major Japanese firms such as KOKUYO, a stationery and furniture maker, and TAKENAKA CORPORATION, a construction company. JETRO also helped ChopValue find service providers that supported setup and compliance.

Soback also emphasizes that JETRO's global and domestic network was equally important. "We've worked with JETRO in Canada and Singapore. JETRO has so many different office locations, and they're able to hand that information across to their counterparts, so that way we can move quickly."

One particularly memorable introduction involved a meeting with an eighth-generation disposable-chopstick manufacturer in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture. "There's no way I would be able to have that meeting on my own," Soback recalls. "But with JETRO, we were able to open that door to have a successful conversation."

Customer response in Japan has exceeded expectations. "Absolutely amazing," Soback says. Installations range from public spaces to high-profile projects such as Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, where ChopValue provided furniture and wall paneling for the Canada Pavilion using more than one million recycled chopsticks.

"Yes, it is a sustainable material," Soback explains. "However, the key has to be the performance—the durability, the quality, the craftsmanship that goes into it."

Since opening in April 2025, the Microfactory in Kawasaki has recycled over 10,000 kilograms of material. But for ChopValue, impact is not measured solely in volume. "It's really about bringing sustainability and making it very tangible for the individual," Soback says. In practice, this focus on tangibility has also given rise to an educational dimension of the business.

This educational role has become an unexpected but meaningful part of the company's mission, with schoolchildren taking tours of the Microfactory. "Literally, in our factory, you can see it go from a chopstick through to furniture," he adds. "They're actually holding sustainability in their hands."

Japan's scale presents both opportunity and challenge. In the Kanto region alone, 27 million chopsticks are discarded every day. "A single Microfactory cannot process the total volume of chopsticks generated in Japan," Soback notes.

Looking ahead five years, ChopValue envisions establishing up to 100 Microfactories across Japan. A challenge with community-based businesses is that each new location is unique, but Soback hopes to apply the lessons learned in Kawasaki. "We have built a model with Kawasaki City. How do we replicate that without having to start from zero in another location?"

Soback's advice to other foreign entrepreneurs is clear and pragmatic.

"Having a great product doesn't mean you will be successful in Japan. Having great relationships, however, will open the door to success."

With strong partnerships, patient execution, and JETRO's continued support, ChopValue's Japanese journey illustrates how foreign companies can align innovation with Japan's regulatory, cultural, and environmental landscape—and turn local challenges into scalable opportunities.