Sony Corporation has established a specialized section within its procurement group that is tasked with promoting the recycling of resources. Since September 2008 Sony--led by this section--and the city of Kitakyushu have cooperated to conduct proving tests for the recovery and effective use of valuable metals recovered from used digital still cameras, video cameras, portable digital music players, mobile phones and other small electronic products collected for this purpose., With the ultimate objective of creating a permanent recycling system, the proving tests included an assessment of the overall business feasibility of the scheme for resource recycling (collection → treatment → recovery). Gold extracted from small electronics collected in fiscal year 2008 was subsequently recycled for use in semiconductors for mobile phones. These semiconductors were mounted in mobile phones launched by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications in February 2010, underscoring the steadily expanding use of metal recovered from small electronics equipment in commercial products. In June 2010, the proving tests were expanded to include the city of Fukuoka, and, in addition, in April 2011 the city of Nogata near Kitakyushu, with the aim of increasing the volume of metals thus recovered.