In the hands of a skilled craftsman, even a beat-up blade can be brought back to life.

And instead of being incinerated,

the filling from old futons is now being given a second-chance through recycling.

Today's On-Site report features companies that have found business opportunities

centered around making the most from items we already own.

These old futons were all thrown out by their owners.

In September of 2021 Uchihashi Kenshi started a new business called Yuni,

that is centered around recycling futons.

While working for his family's bedding manufacturer,

he realized most old futons were simply going into the trash.

He estimates that each year, over 100 million futons are thrown away in Japan...

and over 98% of them end up being incinerated.

"The materials used for filling are usually in perfectly good condition, with lots of life left in them,

so I thought it was a bit odd that they were just going to waste."

The challenge with recycling futons is cost.

While more valuable bedding materials, like goose down, are commonly recycled.

Futons are primarily made of cotton, polyester, and other cheap materials.

For most bedding manufacturers, this means that it's cheaper to buy these materials new

than it is to try and recycle and reuse them.

In order to offset this difference in cost,

Uchihashi came up with the idea of charging a recycling fee.

When futons are thrown away,

they are usually collected by a municipal waste department and then sent to be incinerated.

Municipal governments usually have to pay a disposal fee of around $4.00 per futon.

Knowing this, Uchihashi's company, Yuni,

offers to take them in bulk, for a slightly lower amount than other disposal companies.

"A lot of them are surprised that we're able to recycle futons

made from cheap materials like cotton or polyester."

Since recycling these materials from used futons was so uncommon,

the company developed its own special machinery.

The process begins by cleaning and sterilizing the futons.

After drying, the removal of the stuffing must all be done by hand.

Next, another machine is used to restore the material's fluffiness.

Old stuffing that was matted and discolored from years of use,

comes out looking as soft and clean as ever.

The recycled materials are then used to make new items

such as futons, throw pillows, and floor cushions -

all of which can be sold for less than items made using brand new materials.

Over the last year, the company has purchased 270,000 used futons for recycling.

It expects to earn a profit of around $8 per futon

through sales of products made using materials sourced from them.

"By recycling old futons, a lot of the materials that were being incinerated

can be now turned into something useful.

Through sustainable practices like this,

I hope that Japan can turn its waste into a vast supply of recycled resources."

These boxes contain old beat-up kitchen knives that have been sent in from all over Japan.

Many of the blades arrive chipped and rusted.

But come out looking as good as new.

This repair service was started by Hoshiba Kentaro, a fourth-generation blacksmith

whose forge first opened in 1908.

It's located in the town of Noto, which sits on the Sea of Japan.

Since the regional economy was mainly supported by farmers and fisherman,

there was always a strong demand for blacksmiths

who could make and repair the tools of their trade.

In the 1950's, there were over 40 forges in the area.

However, since then a combination of population decline

and an influx of cheap, mass-produced metal goods have taken their toll,

and now only the Hoshiba family forge remains.

During that decline, Kentaro's father struggled to keep the business afloat.

"There were a lot of times where things got really hard

and I thought we'd have no choice but to go out of business."

When Kentaro took over the business in 2014,

he noticed a lot of people from surrounding towns and villages were bringing in their knives for repair -

and wondered if that might be the key to saving his family's business.

"Our industry was continuing to shrink, so I saw this as a chance to keep us afloat

by shifting our business model to meet this new type of demand."

In 2018, he opened an e-commerce site

that allowed him to offer knife repair services to anyone in Japan.

The work begins by first checking the blade for any distortion.

Rough handling or forcibly cutting through hard objects

such as bone can often damage the blade.

After straightening the blade by hand,

a machine is then used to grind down areas that have been chipped.

Once the blade's overall shape has been restored...

It goes through a 3-stage hand sharpening process

that uses stones with different levels of coarseness.

"You have to make sure to pull the blade towards you.

If you push the other way and drive the edge into the grinding stone,

its surface can cause damage to the blade."

After the process is complete, a simple yet effective sharpness test is carried out.

Additional services such as handle replacement are also available.

By offering such a high-level of service,

the forge also receives orders from cooks and other professionals that rely on their knives.

Kamono Takayuki works as the head chef at a traditional Japanese inn

that has been in business since 1890.

He turned to Kentaro for help when one of his trusty knives became too beat up to ignore.

"Cutting through thick fish bones every day can really do a number on a knife blade.

In cases where the chipping is really severe, only a professional can fix it.

When I got it back I couldn't even tell where the damage had been.

It looked brand new!"

Standard repair services start at about $20.

After being in business for 4 years, the forge's reputation has spread,

and they now receive as many as 800 orders per month!

Nearly half of the forge's $400,000 in annual sales are from the knife repair service.

Over 80% of the orders come from ordinary people,

many of whom are hoping to keep knives

that have been in their families for generations in good condition.

"Rather than getting something new, more and more people are showing an interest in

getting the most out of what they already have.

With the concept of repair over replace catching on,

I think we can expect to see our business continue to grow."