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Recycling in Japan
Recycling of end-of-life products in Japan
In Japan, Toshiba Group is collecting and recycling end-of-life products in accordance with the Law for the Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances and the Act on the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources.
The number of four types of home appliances collected in FY2010 was approximately 3.64 million. It rose substantially (up 141% compared to the previous year) due to the effects of the eco-point system in addition to an increase in the amount collected thanks to the understanding and cooperation of customers and other relevant parties. The number of these appliances collected by Toshiba Group represented about 13% of the total of all such appliances collected in Japan. Although the Great East Japan Earthquake damaged designated collection sites, recycling plants and other related facilities commissioned to handle disposal of four types of home appliances and other services, Toshiba Group has been providing support since immediately after the earthquake, taking emergency measures to ensure the stable operation of these facilities.
A total of 33,000 end-of-life PCs, a 122% increase compared to the previous year, were collected from businesses and homes for recycling.
Number of four types of home appliances and PCs collected in Japan
Percentage of four types of home appliances and PCs recycled in Japan
Development and application of recycling technology
Toshiba Group is working to develop and apply recycling technology to properly treat hazardous substances and effectively collect and recycle valuables including iron, copper, aluminum and plastic.
Case Study 1: Recycling flat-panel TV sets more efficiently / Nishinihon Kaden Recycle Corporation
Equipment to disassemble large TV sets
Nishinihon Kaden Recycle Corporation has introduced workbenches that incorporate equipment to hold flat-panel TV sets and systems to help workers to disassemble them or separate their components before placing them on the dismantling line. Through this and other measures, the company is promoting development by reducing workers' workload and ensuring that dismantling and recycling work is performed safely and efficiently. The mercury which is contained in the cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) used as the backlights is treated appropriately at the refinery by taking measures to prevent its dispersion, and the refinery vaporizes mercury in the process of torrefaction, condenses and refines it for recycling.
Case Study 2: Increasing the amount of end-of-life products recycled /Term Corporation
Term has established a nationwide recycling network that consists of 21 plants, three sales offices, and two affiliated companies. The company is contributing to the effective use of resources by increasing the amount of intermediate disposal, which involves dismantling, crushing and sorting end-of-life machinery and tools, PCs, OA equipment, etc. It is also working to build lines to recycle flat-panel TV sets efficiently.
Case Studies in FY2009
FY2009- FY2008
Case Study 1: Material recycling for waste urethane / Nishinihon Kaden Recycle Corporation
In order to mitigate environmental impacts, Nishinihon Kaden Recycle Corp. is working to reduce waste by finding new uses for it. The company, for example, uses waste urethane from refrigerators, which was previously treated as waste, for fuel and mixes it with waste cooking oil to produce asphalt rejuvenator.
Case Study 2: Recycling of flat-panel TV sets / Term Corporation
Starting April 1, 2009, flat-panel TV sets came to be covered by the Law for the Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances. Term Corp. contributes to the recycling of resources such as iron, aluminum, and plastics by disassembling flat-panel TV sets manually and sorting out substances thoroughly for collection. In order to more effectively recycle flat-panel TV sets, which are expected to be discharged as waste in larger numbers in the future, the company is working to appropriately treat hazardous substances included in the backlight, develop conveyance and disassembly systems that help reduce operators' workload, and establish a recycling line.
Case Studies in FY2008
- FY2009
- FY2008
Case Study 1: Utilization of recycled plastics - from TVs to TVs - / Visual Products Company, Toshiba Corporation
The cabinets (back covers) of TV sets collected in accordance with the Law for the Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances are reused as raw plastic materials for TV parts*.
- *
- These materials started to be used for certain new LCD TV models launched in FY2008.
Case Study 2: Utilization of recycled materials from end-of-life home appliances / Toshiba Home Appliances Corporation
Toshiba Home Appliances recycles plastics collected from waste home appliances into parts for new home appliances by establishing a supply chain, including the collection of plastic parts at home appliance disposal plants (such as Term Corporation and Nishinihon Kaden Recycle Corporation) and the processing of materials. The quality of collected plastics as materials-such as strength, durability, and color tone-is maintained by removing foreign substances from them, treating them with additives, or otherwise processing them. Thus efforts are being made to increase the percentage of recycled materials used (i.e., minimize the percentage of virgin materials used).
Recycled plastic parts are used for the base plate and other parts of the TW-5000VF washing machine/dryer.
The weight of recycled plastic parts used for this model is about 5.7 kg/unit.
Mitigation of Climate Change
Management of Chemicals
Effective Use of Resources
Environmental Management for Factories
Recycling of End-of-Life Products
- Global Recycling
- Recycling in Japan
