Waste Reduction
1. Philosophy
As a manufacturer of chemical products, JSR Group understands that addressing the problem of marine plastic litter facing society is one of our most important issues. We recognize that it is our duty to contribute to the realization of a recycling-based society.
In addition to initiatives related to the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) of waste, we advance the efficient use of resources (circular economy) throughout the life cycle from raw materials procurement to product manufacturing, while also contributing to the customers through business activities and the achievement of related SDGs.
2. Trend in Generation and Disposal of Industrial Waste
In FY2021, JSR Group set KPIs for newly identified materiality. In the materiality "environmental conservation and impact reduction," we have set a global goal to reduce the amount of waste sent to final off-site landfills to 0.1% or less of the amount of waste generated, and have decided to further advance recycling.
We re-calculated* the amount of waste sent to final off-site landfills following the transfer of the Elastomers Business in April 2022.
In FY2022, we achieved our global target to reduce the amount of waste sent to final off-site landfills to 0.1% or less of the amount of waste generated. In addition, the amount of industrial waste generated was 14,000 tons (down 25% from the previous year), and the recycling rate was 92%. Although the amount of industrial waste generated changes with production volume, we will continue to strive to control this waste, advance recycling, and implement activities from a long-term perspective.
*Measure taken in conjunction with the base year of greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Initiatives to Reduce Industrial Waste
(1) Examples of Initiatives at Business Sites
Initiative to Acquire Zero Waste Certification [JSR Micro Inc. (America)]
JSR Micro Inc. is aiming to acquire Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) zero waste certification in FY2023. The company is making improvements in response to identifications from an audit.
Reuse of Used Equipment [JSR Micro N.V. (Belgium)]
JSR Micro N.V. regularly upgrades its analytical equipment to the latest version to ensure the best possible quality. Since the analytical equipment that is no longer used after the upgrade can often still be used for other applications, in 2021 we decided not to discard it but to donate it to the university for use in the laboratory for students' practical training.
(2) Waste Plastics Recycling Advancement
JSR has established the following targets for FY2030 to advance the recycling of waste plastics.
1) 100% recycling (including heat recovery)
2) 60% recycling (not including heat recovery)
The FY2022 waste plastics recycling rate (including heat recovery) was 92% for JSR and for domestic Group companies. We will continue moving forward with approaches.
At the same time, our recycling rate (not including heat recovery) has fallen short of our target values as of the current point in time, and we will continue working to further raise our recycling rates.
| Waste plastics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount generated (thousand tons) |
Amount recycled (thousand tons) |
Recycling rate (including heat recovery)(%) |
Recycling rate (excluding heat recovery)(%) |
|
| JSR Corporation Domestic Group companies |
2.0 | 1.8 | 92 | 36 |
(3) Promotion of "3R" (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) for Packaging Materials in Logistics
JSR has always been serious about environmental measures in its logistics. Therefore, we promote "3R" (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to effectively utilize waste-free packaging materials and packaging containers.
We are working to reduce the weight of outer cardboard boxes (from a two-layer to a one-layer structure), as well as simplify packaging and streamline transport (palletizing) for our efforts to reduce packaging materials.
We are striving to use links for product containers* and to reuse containers used in processes for our efforts to reuse packaging materials.
Moreover, we are working to recycle various packaging materials, such as plastic drums, metal drums, pails and glass bottles, generated at our business sites for our efforts to recycle packaging materials.
Also, we are making efforts to select label base materials made from recycled raw materials (foamed PET).
JSR will actively engage in the above 3R activities for packing materials to promote recycling and effective use of resources.
* Use of links: Links are returned or collected from customers for reuse.
4. Initiatives for Hazardous Waste
JSR properly stores and manages low-concentration PCB* waste in accordance with the Act on Special Measures concerning Promotion of Proper Treatment of PCB Wastes in Japan. We will also systematically carry out detoxification treatment in accordance with treatment deadlines.
*PCB stands for polychlorinated biphenyl