Eco Factory

Waste Reduction and Recycling
TEL is working to reduce waste generated by its business and to lessen environmental impacts.

Stance on Reduction and Recycling of Wastes

Breakdown of Waste Volume

TEL's stance on waste reduction and recycling is: "Produce noWaste liquids account for about 70% of all TEL's wastes. This iswaste. Recycle any waste that is produced. Properly dispose of any

due to the fact that we use a variety of chemical liquids during thewaste that cannot be recycled."development and evaluation of the products we manufacture. Other

Based on this stance, TEL is working to reduce the waste generated by our business. Every year, the shortage of final disposal sites

wastes for TEL as a whole total just over 1,000 tons, a notably small
amount of waste for a business of this size.

becomes more critical and landfill costs are on the rise. In addition,
reducing waste is crucial in minimizing environmental impacts, aswell as in cutting production costs.

Breakdown of TEL's Waste for Fiscal 2001
Glass:0.1%

Each TEL plant is making continuous efforts aiming for zeroemissions. These plants are sorting and recovering wastes and ac-Others:10.6%

Waste liquid:2.1%
Kitchen trash:2.5%

tively seeking out recycling outlets as part of the effort to promote re-Metal/product scrap:2.8%
Paper:3.5%

cycling. It is incumbent on manufacturers not simply to make good

Plastic:7.2%

Total
3,938 tonnes

products, but also to make every manufacturing process environmentally friendly. TEL promotes proper disposal as outlined in thePackaging:7.4%
Specially controlledindustrial waste liquid*:
63.8%

Wastes Disposal and Public Cleaning Law, for example by carefully
selecting the contractors it engages to process its wastes.

*Specially controlled industrial waste liquid: Liquid waste deemed to pose a riskof harm to human health or living environment and designated by the government as subject to special control.

Total Waste
The following diagram shows the amount of TEL waste undergo-

Breakdown of Wastes by Region for Fiscal 2001

ing final disposal and the rate of recycling. The recycling rate has ris-

Saga:2.0%

en year by year, and efforts to use resources effectively have resulted

Koshi:2.2%
Fujii:4.3%

in the rate rising above that of fiscal 2000. The total amount of waste
produced rose slightly, with liquid wastes accounting for most of theYokohama:5.0%
Sagami:6.5%

increase.
Since fiscal 1999, TEL has included wastes from our office facilities with those from manufacturing plants in the waste total. The

Ozu:1.6%
Miyagi:1.1%
Kumamoto:0.7%

Fuchu:6.7%

Total
3,938 tonnes

Tohoku:7.0%
Hosaka:62.9%

amount of waste produced rises and falls according to productionlevels and factory operating status, but TEL is committed to working
toward consistent reduction of waste levels.
T O P I C S

TEL's Waste Output
Amount of waste (i.e., waste sent to final disposal)(t)(100%)

Recycling rate

59.9%

69.7%

55.2%

Example of Efforts to Reduce Waste
Saga Plant
Each TEL site has established a special subcommittee for waste re-49.7%

duction and carries out its efforts through this body. Notably, the Saga Plant
40.9%

has reduced the amount of waste undergoing final disposal by more than
90% since fiscal 1996. This factory's system has made it possible to takeconcrete measures, such as thorough waste sorting and the recycling and15.3%
4,23801396

salvage sale of previously discarded metals and plastics. The Saga Plant
4,77297

TOKYO ELECTRONENVIRONMENTAL REPORT 2002

3,18998

3,17999

3,65700

particularly focused on recycling solid wastes in fiscal 2001.

3,938010Recycling

Control of Waste Processing Yards and Contractors

Promoting efficient recycling requires thorough separation when

Each TEL site certifies and controls the intermediate processors

waste is initially discarded. TEL site separate waste into between 24

and final disposal contractors for waste. When a new contractor is toand 29 categories, according to waste characteristics. The types ofbe used to process waste, each site performs a study to certify thematerials sorted are primarily paper, drink containers, scrap wood,contractor, checking their licenses and making onsite checks. This is

glass, plastics and metals. Through sustained efforts, our recycling

done to determine whether the contractor is capable of proper pro-rate has risen year by year. In fiscal 2001 this rate reached 69.7%,cessing or disposal, as outlined in the Wastes Disposal and Public

up about 10% from the previous year. This achievement was madeCleaning Law. Once the contractor is certified, it undergoes regularpossible by changes in the method of disposal of waste liquid at vari-onsite checks to continue monitoring its waste processing status.

ous locations and by thorough separation of wastes, among other efforts. TEL plans to continue to work at each workplace to make recycling even more effective.

T O P I C S

Recycling Example 1
Waste Liquid Recycling: Tohoku Plant

Recycling Example 2
Expanded Polystyrene Recycling: Yamanashi Plant

At the Tohoku Plant, where waste liquid once made up about 70%

Expanded polystyrene (EPS), the foam used as cushioning whenof all wastes, employees are controlling the amount of liquids used andshipping components, is light, but bulky, and is therefore a challenge tothoroughly separating the liquids. A process in which liquids are separa-ship whether it is discarded or recycled. The Yamanashi Plant addressed

ted and recovered according to high or low density is making it possible

this issue by installing an EPS compacter and recycling the material effi-to recycle these wastes, and a contractor is engaged to process theciently. The EPS is compactedwastes. Low-density waste liquid is treated and the remaining sludge is

into ingots and transferred to aused as cement material. Recycling of high-density waste liquid began incontractor, who then recycles thefiscal 2001. The sludge remaining after processing is recycled as raw

material into hangers, cassettematerial for stainless steel, or as a melting agent. These efforts have pu-tapes and other products.

shed the recycling rate at the Tohoku Plant to higher than 90%.

TEL recycled about two

Recycling of Waste Liquid, Once 70% of All Waste

tonnes of EPS in fiscal 2001.

EPS compacter

Waste liquid

Recycling Example 3
Office Initiatives
Office recycling initiatives, pioneered at our World Headquarters inLow density

High density

Akasaka and at the Fuchu Technology Center in fiscal 2000, were implemented at other site in fiscal 2001. For example, documents that wereTransferred and treatedReleaseTreatment

Treatment

once shredded and burned for confidentiality reasons are now recycled.
ReleaseThe documents go into a transportation box and are recycled in a systemthat prevents the viewing of their contents. This effort resulted in the recycling of 770kg of confidential documents at our Osaka Branch Office inSludge

Sludgefiscal 2001.
For paper cups, we have switched from timber pulp to non-timber

Cementmaterial

Stainless steel
raw material

kenaf, and our paper-cup recycling program has spread to other site.

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