Panasonic's commitment to Recycling

Lead Free Panasonic

The image to the right shows the amount of lead used in conventional Plasma and Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) products compared with Panasonic's lead free plasma technology.

The left hand jar shows average amount of lead that is used in a Cathode Ray Tube television. The middle jar shows the amount of lead used in a conventional Plasma Display Panel and the right hand jar shows the amount of lead in a Panasonic Viera PDP (I.e. No Lead).

CRT Recycling

The CRT television recycling takes some care, since the front glass and the funnel glass have to be recycled separately, due to the lead content in the funnel glass. The CRT is heated up to soften the bonding strip holding the two glass sections together.

Both sections are then separated and recycled individually.

CRT Separation

Both sections of glass are thoroughly cleaned and then crushed into cullets - small pieces of glass, around 5cm square. The crushed glass is then sold onto a glass manufacturer to make new products.

Washing Machine Recycling

Washing machines are thrown into a crusher and broken up into small pieces. All these pieces are then sorted using air jets and magnets to separate all the metal from the plastic. This separation process is repeated several times to ensure that no item is placed into the wrong section.

The different metals are then sold on to be reused in other products, while polypropylene is separated out from the recycled plastics. The recycled plastics are then used to manufacture such items as washing machine frames.

Air Conditioning Units

Air conditioners need to have the CFC refrigerant gas removed, after which the heat exchanger and compressor are taken out of the unit. The heat exchanger is then broken up in a sealed crushing chamber, which results in pieces of mixed metal.

Air Conditioning Units (Part 2)

The mixed metals are then separated into iron, copper and aluminium fragments - the iron is then reused to make new compressor parts, while the recycled copper and aluminium will find a home in new heat exchangers.

Refrigerators

Refrigerators take the most work though. First all the plastic drawers, shelved and other internal parts have to be removed by hand. Then the CFC refrigeration gas is collected. The fridge is then put on a lift and dropped into the crusher.

Refrigerators (Part 2)

Panasonic manufacture fridges, and other domestic products, but this plant re-cycles other manufacturers equipment also.

The crushed debris is then sorted and iron, copper, aluminium, plastics and urethane foam are all separated. Once again the iron is reused for compressor parts, while the plastics are remoulded and made into new base plates for refrigerators.

Material Sorting

This device demonstrates the sorting procedure. Plastic and metal can be thrown into the top - it is then separated using magnets and air jets.

Conclusion

Although all electronics manufacturers have to invest in the recycling of their products, Panasonic is the only manufacturer in Japan that has built a recycling plant solely. The up side of this investment is that any profit generated by METEC belongs solely to Panasonic, and this site is now apparently is profitable, ahead of schedule.

If you're wondering why the UK doesn't have this kind of proactive approach to recycling, the answer is that it does. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive represents a step towards proactive recycling, with WEEE regulations actually stricter than those in Japan. A quick look at the WEEE Network website shows that large domestic appliances need to be 75 per cent recyclable.

The estimates are that the cost to manufacturers in for compliance with the WEEE directive will be between £197 - £248 million in the 2008 calendar year. Each manufacturer's input will be calculated on their market share, measured in gross weight.