Recycling

New goals for recycling electrical and electronics waste

Many countries require recycling of many products including home appliances and e-waste. In the European Union it is the 2003 Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive and in the U.S. many states carry similar requirements since 2005.

Major electrical and electronics manufacturers including Panasonic are making an effort to lead the recycling of e-waste. Panasonic expect to reach 99.5 percent waste recycling rate by 2018.

Major manufacturers are employing many deferent ways to reach maximum recycling. They look for ways to reduce the amount of resources used in manufacturing, increase recycling by using new technologies, and eliminating waste during the manufacturing process to the maximum extent possible.

Panasonic for example, recovery of materials for reuse starts at the disassembly line. One example of reuse is that panel glass they collect are crushed to make a powder. Then the powder is converted to glass wool and used for making vacuum insulation materials that are used in refrigerators.

In the U.S., there is a partnership formed among five national recycling companies commonly known as MRM (the Manufacturers Recycling Management Company). They currently operate 1,300 nationwide collection sites and expect to expand collection sites to 1,600 by 2013.