Based on the concept of the Comet Circle that puts "Priority on Inner Loop Recycling," the Ricoh Group is working on recycling materials with less environmental impact and high economic efficiency. Our efforts are thus focused on the following activities (in order of priority) –recovering products, reusing parts, and recycling materials. Ricoh, with recognition that the flow from collection of used products to the recycling of materials is one business unit, is making efforts to improve profitability in the recycling business on a global scale by increasing sales of recycled products such as recycled copiers and by establishing an efficient recycling system.
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Improve the quantity of reusable parts used by a factor of at least five (compared to fiscal 2003 figures in Japan). |
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Increase the quantity of recycled plastics used to 1,000 tons or more. |
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Increase the number of recycled copiers marketed by a factor of at least 10 (compared to fiscal 2003 figures in Japan). |
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Compared to fiscal 2003, the quantity of reusable parts used increased five times and the quantity of recycled plastics used per year amounted to 1,346 tons, which indicates that we successfully reached our fiscal 2007 targets. The sales of recycled copiers in Japan increased 7.9 times, which means that although we missed our fiscal 2007 target, the number of reused units increased substantially. Through these activities, Ricoh is increasing the use of recovered resources globally and the amount is increasing steadily every year(see Graph (2)).
We are also actively engaged in collecting used copiers and toner cartridges. As a result, the number of used copiers collected is increasing steadily. The number of used toner cartridges collected saw a decline due to the decrease in the sales of applicable products in certain territories(see Table (1)).
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We will continue to effectively use recovered resources by increasing the production and sales of recycled copiers as well as the use of recycled parts and materials, and thus provide our customers with products with less environmental impact and with higher economic efficiency. For this purpose, it is important to improve the collection rate and collection quality of used products. Through these activities, Ricoh will move forward with the utilization of recovered resources to contribute to creating a sustainable society.
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Practicing Recycling with Less Environmental Impact |
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The Ricoh Group clearly prioritizes recycling methods to promote its recycling activities. Recycling collected products into commercially useful products generates less environmental impact and creates greater associated economic benefits than if they were disassembled and sorted to be recycled into resources/energy. This idea is represented in the Comet Circle. The flow of the recycling process, from the recovery of copiers collected from the market to the launch of recycled copiers, is shown in the second innermost loop. The recycled copier business contributes to the creation of a sustainable society. In addition to focusing on this business, we are striving to reduce the level of resource consumption for new products in the development phase, and thus are reusing and recycling materials, water resources, manufacturing supplies, and many others in the course of each production process.
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Data
See more details about the data of Resource Conservation and Recycling.
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