Waste, Resource Saving
Reduction of
waste discharged
per unit of sales
Our Group uses different resources such as copper, aluminum, iron, and, as insulating material, plenty of plastics for the steel wire and cable business. Produced as waste are waste metal and a lot of waste acid, waste alkali, waste oil, and sludge at the time of metal surface treatment or processing. To reduce waste discharged, we are working to improve yield rate, reduce the amount of waste acid, waste alkali, and waste oil, separate plastics and other materials in detail, and convert waste into valuable materials.
Amount of waste discharged = amount landfilled or incinerated without heat recovery + heat recovery + material recycling
Promotion of Recycling
The recycling rate of waste stands at more than 98% in Japan, but at 85.2% overseas as some countries and regions are not well-equipped yet. To improve the recycling rate, we need to consider recycling methods according to each country.
Recycling rate = (heat recovery + material recycling + valuable materials) / amount of waste discharged (amount landfilled or incinerated + heat recovery +material recycling + valuable materials)
Latest Data
Amount of Waste and Recycling Rate (in Japan) in 2022
Latest Data
Amount of Waste and Recycling Rate (Overseas) in 2022
Latest Data
Amount of Waste Discharged (excluding valuable materials) and Reduction Rate per Unit of Sales (in Japan and Overseas) in 2022
Latest Data
Amount of Waste by Type in Fiscal 2022 (in Japan)
Recycling of
Used Products
The Sumitomo Electric Group collects used electric wires/cables and optical fiber cables for cutting tools and their plastic cases from our customers to reuse and recycle them as materials for new products.
Notably, we recycle nearly 100% of copper, coating materials and metals from collected electric wires and cables.
In addition, we have established a system that is capable of recycling all the carbide chips sold in Japan and their plastic cases. The carbide chips are chiefly composed of tungsten, a rare metal.
