Nissan is giving industrial waste a second life through an innovative partnership with Takayama Group, transforming paint shop byproducts into sustainable construction materials.
The collaboration centres around calcium carbonate recovered from Nissan’s vehicle paint facilities, now repurposed into sound-insulating sheets called TS-12 and TS-20. These products are designed for building applications and mark a clever shift from waste disposal to value creation.
The material originates from Nissan’s “dry booth” paint system used at its Tochigi and Oppama plants. Unlike traditional water-based systems — where paint mist dissolves into wastewater and becomes industrial waste — this method captures overspray using calcium carbonate filters. The result is a solid byproduct that can be collected and reused efficiently.
By channeling this recovered material into construction products, the initiative is expected to cut around 1,200 tonnes of waste annually while reducing disposal costs by approximately JP¥25 million. There’s an environmental upside too — the new sheets are said to lower CO2 emissions by over 30% compared to conventional alternatives.
Manufactured by Takayama Kasei and marketed by Taiho, the TS-12 and TS-20 sheets establish a practical, real-world application for recycled automotive waste beyond the factory floor.
Nissan says this is just the beginning. The company is already exploring further uses for the recovered calcium carbonate, including potential integration into automotive components by 2030.
