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| Recycling Activities in Japan |
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Sony recycles televisions and personal computers in line with applicable recycling-related laws in Japan. Sony also bears the cost of recycling nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries, lithium batteries and other small batteries, as well as packaging materials, as required by law. Japan's Home Appliance Recycling Law, which came into effect in April 2001, covers four major types of home appliances: televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners. Of these, the only product that Sony manufactures is televisions (defined as CRT televisions and including those bearing the Aiwa brand). The law requires that (i) consumers pay a recycling fee when disposing of home appliances; (ii) retailers take back discarded appliances and pass them on to manufacturers; and (iii) manufacturers recycle discarded appliances thus retrieved.
Sony has established a nationwide cooperative recycling network with five other manufacturers. As a result, Sony-manufactured televisions are now recycled at 15 recycling plants across Japan. Sony Corporation is the principal shareholder in one of the 15 plants: Green Cycle Corp., in Aichi Prefecture. In fiscal 2006, approximately 760,000 Sony-manufactured televisions were recycled. The Home Appliance Recycling Law requires a recycling rate of at least 55% of televisions. Sony has consistently achieved this required rate since fiscal 2001. In fiscal 2006, the recycling rate for Sony-manufactured televisions was 75%, down from fiscal 2004. The major reason for the decline was a decrease in demand for waste glass cullets recycled from CRTs. |
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| Television Recycling in Japan |
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Television Recycling in Japan*
(Fiscal 2006)
| Units received at collection centers |
758,146 |
| Units recycled |
750,288
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| Total weight of products processed |
21,009 |
| Total weight of recycled products/materials |
15,767 |
| Recycling rate |
75% |
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| * The difference between the number of "units recycled" is the inventory of units to be recycled as of March 31, 2007. |
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| In October 2003, Sony began collecting and recycling PCs and displays discarded by private citizens, in line with the Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources, in addition to its well-established recycling program for units discarded by corporate users. Products collected included desktop and notebook PCs, and both CRT and LCD displays. These products are recycled by Green Cycle. In fiscal 2006, approximately 30,000 Sony-manufactured PCs and displays were collected, generating approximately 243 tons of metals, plastics, glass and other materials. Parts of LCD panels used in notebook PCs and LCD displays were made available for reuse. |
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Resources Recycled from Televisions
(Fiscal 2006) |
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PC and Display Recycling in Japan
(Fiscal 2006)
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Units |
Desktop PCs |
Notebook PCs |
CRT displays |
LCDs |
| Units brought into plant |
Units |
8,263 |
5,992 |
11,075 |
4,538 |
| Total weight of products processed |
Tons |
88.4 |
14.2 |
216.0 |
22.3 |
| Total weight of recycled products/material |
Tons |
63.8 |
6.4 |
157.6 |
14.8 |
| Recycling rate |
% |
72% |
45% |
73% |
66% |
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