In an effort
to improve profitability in the recycling
business on a global scale, the Ricoh Group
is promoting its product platform and module
design and refining its recyclable designs.
For example, decreasing the number of parts
used will help reduce costs, mechanical
failure, and environmental impact and improve
customer satisfaction. It will also help
in the more-efficient reuse and recycling
of used products. Ricoh manufactures products
based on the 3R concept of reduce, reuse,
and recycle, taking the following into consideration:
product design, capital investment, marketing,
maintenance, and more efficient recycling.
The Ricoh
Group's Concept of Product Development,
Manufacturing, and Recycling
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Reduce
Environmental
impact is reduced if products are
made smaller, lighter, and longer
lasting.
Reuse
The
reuse of products is possible long
after the product's life has
ended thanks to the use of modular
designs and more-advanced recyclable
designs.
Recycle
Promoting
the recycling of parts and materials
as much as possible within the Ricoh
Group.
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Product Platform
and Module Design
Ricoh is
introducing a product platform and module
design to next-generation products in order
to develop and market products with less
environmental impact in a more efficient
and timely manner. The purpose of this design
scheme is to aid decision making on the
product platform (structure), modules mounted
on and sharing the platform, and modules
used throughout the product line and across
generations. This plan is best suited for
"the era of the environment" because
it allows products to keep up with the changes
of the times by simply having the necessary
modules updated.
Recyclable Design
More-efficient
reuse and recycling can be realized by improving
the disassembly and sorting of products
collected after use and choosing materials
that contain less chemical substances and
are easily recyclable. In 1993, Ricoh announced
its policy on recyclable designs for significantly
reducing the time and cost it takes for
recycling (e.g., fewer screws used in the
machine and standardizing plastic materials).
Ricoh also expanded its policy on recyclable
designs and product assessment system to
cover its entire line of copiers, facsimiles,
laser printers, and multifunctional copiers.
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Provisions for Recyclable Designs
- Provision
for the entire product line
- Provision
for reuse
- Provision
for recycling
- Provisions
for the recycling of chemicals
and the recovery of energy
- Provision
for supplies (e.g., toner cartridges)
- Provision
for packaging
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Recycling of Plastic Parts
In 1994,
Ricoh began indicating the grade and type
of plastic materials used in each part of
a product on labels according to the Company's
recyclable design policy. Since then, labeling
has been conducted to ensure the better
recycling of plastic materials. The plastic
parts of end-of-life products are sorted
and crushed by grade and mixed with virgin
plastics to be reused in Ricoh products.
Ricoh's recycled plastic parts contain up
to 20% to 30% recycled materials. In Japan,
in fiscal 2002 Ricoh collected approximately
200 tons of six different types of plastics
and processed them into approximately 600
tons of recycled materials by adding virgin
materials to them. Recycled materials are
reused in Ricoh products manufactured in
Japan and China. Ricoh has thus achieved
a closed recycling of plastic materials
on a global scale.
*
Copiers are collected from the market
and disassembled. After removing foreign
materials from the plastic parts sorted
from disassembled copiers, the plastic
parts are cleaned with air pressure
and then crushed. |
Recyclable Design for Toner Cartridges
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Soft case for the soft toner cartridge
refilling system
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To
reduce the environmental impact caused
by toner cartridges throughout their
life cycles, Ricoh independently developed
a soft toner cartridge.
Under this system, only the soft cases
housed within hard cases need to be
replaced with new ones when refilling
toner cartridges. The hard cases can
be used continuously. The system is
used in the Aficio CL7000 (IPSiO CX7200/8200)
color printer and other products.
The system reduced the environmental
impact caused by toner cartridges
throughout their life cycle 70% or
more compared with that caused by
replacing old cartridges with new
ones*. Also, the system reduced cost
approximately 10%. Because toner can
be replenished easily by inserting
the cartridge downward, it is very
attractive to users.
*
When reused five times (environmental
impact calculated in terms of CO2
emissions)
Ricoh has filed more than 150 patent
applications (as of March 2003) in
Japan for the soft toner cartridge refilling system.
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