Reduction in the volume of waste
As measures toward a circular economy, the company promotes the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) activities. By restricting the volume of generated waste, thoroughly sorting all waste by type, and increasing the volume that is recycled, TOK is working to make more effective use of resources. The company strives to maintain zero emissions* by reducing the landfill disposal volume by processing waste products through combustion or crushing, which is called intermediate treatment, and through stabilization and volume reduction initiatives.
* Zero emissions: Landfill disposal volume (direct or after intermediate treatment) of less than 1% of industrial waste discharged by production activities
Reduce Industrial Waste Emissions
In fiscal year 2020, TOK set a new medium-term target to reduce industrial waste generation (per base unit) by 15 points compared to 2019 by fiscal year 2030 (a reduction of approximately 1.4 points annually). With this target in mind, TOK has been working to reduce the various types of waste by refining and reusing process effluents, internal effluent processing, internal recovery, and converting waste into items of value.
In 2022, the company reused process effluents and proactively converted waste into items of value. However, the medium-term target was left unattained because the industrial waste per base unit increased by 12 points year-over-year and by 23 points from 2019 as the base year. The TOK Group will continue to promote measures to attain the medium-term targets, including the increase of items of value and internal processing.
Achieved Zero Emissions
In 2022, industrial waste for landfill disposal after intermediate treatment stood at less than 1% of total waste, and thus TOK achieved zero emissions for nine consecutive years since 2014.
| Scope | Unit | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume of industrial waste*1 | not-consolidated | t | 4380 | 4894 | 5405 |
| Landfill Waste(Non-recycled waste) | not-consolidated | t | 38 | 45 | 47 |
| Recycling rate*2 | not-consolidated | % | 99.13 | 99.08 | 99.14 |
*1 General industrial waste + Specially controlled industrial waste
*2 Landfill Waste ÷ Volume of industrial waste
* The base unit index is calculated after adding general industrial waste and specially
controlled industrial waste.
Industrial Waste Emissions
△ Increased by 23 points compared with 2019（Target： Reduce by 15 points compared with 2019）
Techniques for Recycling Organic Solvent Effluents
TOK strives to effectively use the waste generated by its plants. For example, waste oil is sorted by type of recyclable solvent, and ratings of impurities and purity are introduced with strengthened control applied. In this way, it is possible to reuse waste oil that was previously disposed of as industrial waste. It is now also possible to use waste oil with a mixture of organic solvents as combustion improvers by blending with other waste oil of different calories and water content. At the Aso plant, TOK promotes the conversion of solid resin drums into items of value, the recycling of Styrofoam as ingots, and other recycling activities. TOK will continue contributing to a circular economy through the effective use of resources as described above.
Reduce activities
TOK conducts a range of activities to reduce waste to the fullest extent possible at all company manufacturing sites inside and outside Japan, including the internal processing of waste fluid through water treatment facilities, converting waste into items of value by sorting and reducing the generated waste through modifications of the manufacturing processes.
Reduce: This refers to reducing the volume of waste material generated. Reduction involves minimizing the volume of materials in products in order to minimize the volume that is eventually discarded.
Reuse activities
Products incorporating organic solvents have been placed in stainless-steel containers since the late 1970s. This allows empty containers to be returned to TOK for reuse. In addition, some products are transported using tanker trucks. The company is also beginning to use reusable containers for some photoresist products, chiefly those used in the manufacture of LCD panels.
Reuse: This refers to the repeated use of manufactured goods, containers, and other products in order to reduce the volume of waste materials generated and to conserve resources.
Recycle activities
TTOK recovers the organic solvents (process effluents) used in the manufacturing processes and refines those solvents on-site so that these chemicals can be reused for the same processes, among other measures to reduce industrial waste generation. At the same time, raw materials that can be reused through distillation and refining are recycled with the help of trusted partners (recycling companies).
Recycle: This refers to the use of waste materials as resources rather than incinerating the materials or sending them to a landfill, thereby conserving resources and preventing pollution.
Related Material Issue
