The Ricoh Group
aims at securing profitability in the global
recycling business.
The Ricoh
Group aims at securing profitability* in
the recycling business in Japan by the end
of fiscal 2004. The Group plans to do the
same in the Americas, Europe, China, and
the Asia-Pacific region. Efforts made in
Japan include improving the quality and
reducing the costs of collection, recovery,
and recycling by making use of a recycling
information sharing system and a nationwide
recycling system, as well as by expanding sales of
reconditioned machines. For regions other
than Japan, it was decided that used products
will be collected, recovered, and sold within
the same region. Efforts are being focused
on establishing the recycling information
sharing system, collecting a significant
volume of recyclable resources, and expanding
recycling sites. The recycling business
conducted by sales companies in Europe has
already turned profitable.
*
Defined as a surplus in operating income,
excluding social benefit.
Global Development of the Recycling
Information Sharing System  (International)
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In the recycling
business, used products are regarded as
raw materials. It is therefore very important
to collect a significant volume of recyclable
resources as well as improve the quality
of collection. To promote efficient collection,
recovery, and recycling, the Ricoh Group
plans to promote global development of
the recycling information sharing system
by establishing and operating a worldwide
infra-structure for recovered machines.
The recycling information sharing system
was established as a part of the environmental
management information system to help users
understand information on environmental
impact and costs. Recovery and recycling
centers can share information on the amount
and rate of used products collected. Accurate
information can be obtained simply by entering
the model code of the product to be collected
from customers. Collected information on
costs is also useful for business management
and environmental accounting. Aiming to
streamline the PDCA cycle to improve business
activities in relevant regions and for the
Ricoh Group as a whole, the recycling information
sharing systems began operation in the Americas,
Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region in fiscal
2003. These systems will identify monthly
collection and recycling information as
well as the environmental impact produced
by the collection, recovery, and recycling
activities of the Ricoh Group as a whole.
 Click here for Segment Environmental Accounting.
In Japan, a nationwide
system for collection, recovery, and recycling
of used products was put in place in fiscal
2001. As a result, Ricoh collected a significant
volume of recyclable resources and achieved
a high level of resource recovery for used
copiers and toner cartridges. Development
and mass production of reconditioned digital
copiers began
in fiscal 2001 and the number of models
available was expanded in fiscal 2002. Prior
to that, in 1998, Ricoh began full-scale
collection of used toner cartridges. Depending
on their condition, recovered cartridges
are either reconditioned and resold, or
disassembled, sorted, cleaned, and inspected
for reusable parts. Some cartridges are
recycled for raw materials. In addition,
parts replaced for maintenance are also
collected for recovery and recycling. Ricoh
continues its efforts to collect a significant
volume of recyclable re-sources and improve
the quality of collected parts so as to
provide customers with more reconditioned
machines and recycled toner cartridges.
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| *This is
a recycling information sharing system
in Japan. Similar systems will be
established based on this concept
in four other regions outside Japan. |
Nationwide Recycling System  (Japan)
|
A well-run nationwide
recycling system is needed to efficiently
collect and recycle Ricoh products, which
are used throughout the country. Ricoh has
begun collaborating with green centers (collection
centers), recovery and recycling centers,
and plastic parts manufacturers to establish
a nationwide network that will facilitate
more economically efficient recovery and
recycling of used machines, toner cartridges,
and parts collected from around Japan.
Recycling of Replaced Parts (Japan)
|
Ricoh Technosystems
Co., Ltd. collects all the replaced parts
and waste produced by equipment maintenance
at customers' offices. The replaced parts
are collected and recycled through the Ricoh
Group's nationwide system. The company thus
promotes the Zero-Waste-to-Landfill
activities, considering the customer's office,
as well as company sites, as a part of its
responsibility.
| The manufacturing
plants of Ricoh Electronics, Inc.,
(REI) in California and Mexico are
used as recovery centers for toner
cartridges and other products. The
collecting of toner cartridges for
recovery began in 1995. REI conducted
joint research into recovery methods
and quality assurance with Ricoh Corporation,
a regional sales headquarters, to
promote more eco-friendly recycling
activities that focus on the reuse
of parts. Furthermore, REI engages
in activities that improve employee
awareness of resource collection and
recovery rates. |
|
Toner cartridge
recovery line at REI |
In order to collect
used toner cartridges efficiently
on a Pan-European basis, RICOH Europe
B.V., the European Headquarters of
RICOH Group sales companies has entered
into a partnership with Spring* - a
cross border mail joint venture between
TPG, Royal Mail Group and Singapore
Post. In the meantime, RICOH Group
sales companies are also keeping their
efforts to collect used toner cartridges
from their customers locally. The
recyclable toner cartridges collected
by Spring and local sales companies
are sent to Ricoh UK Products Ltd.
and Ricoh Industrie France S.A., where
they are basically recycled into new
products. To cope with the Directive
of the European Parliament and the
Directive of the Council on Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE), which came into effect on
February 13, 2003, the two companies
started recycling printed circuit
boards and photosensitive materials,
both of which are used in copiers
and other machines. A number of sales
companies are engaged in the recovery
of products at their service/ maintenance
divisions.
*Spring is a joint venture between
the TNT Post Group (TPG), Royal Mail
Group plc, and Singapore Post. |
|
Product
recovery line at Ricoh UK Products
Toner cartridge
recovery line at Ricoh Industrie France
|
In China,
Ricoh Asia Industry (Shenzhen) Ltd.
(RAI), a manufacturing plant, also
works as a recovery plant for toner
cartridges. To improve economic efficiency
in its business operations, RAI is
making efforts to collect a significant
volume of recyclable resources. Ricoh
Electronic Technology Ltd. (RET),
a Shanghai service company, has also
begun product recovery operations.
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|
Asia-Pacific
Enterprise (Japan) Guangzhou plant
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| Sales companies
in the Asia-Pacific region used brochures
to ask customers for their cooperation
in collecting a significant volume
of used toner cartridges. The parts
recovery and reuse rate can be improved
by enhancing the quality of collected
parts. |
|
Environmental
conservation staff of Ricoh Singapore
|
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