Isao Miyoshi runs a dental laborato ry in Sakado, Saitama Prefecture. Every day, he visits the dentistry department at the local Meikai University Hospital, where he collects dozens of plaster impressions of people's gums and their remaining teeth. Back at Miyoshi's lab, his 12 dental technicians then craft new dentures as replacements for the patients' lost teeth.
But these days, 63-year-old Miyoshi is also dealing with used dentures -- which he's in the business of recycling. It's a project he started recently that's making a difference to many people, including himself.
One recent afternoon in his small office, Miyoshi showed me a big box full of mail packages addressed to "The Japan Denture Recycle Association," an NPO he launched in December. Randomly, he picked out one parcel and cut it open with a pair of scissors.