Managing and reducing waste material

AISIN is implementing thorough measures to ensure legal compliance with regards to handling of waste, and working on reducing the amount of waste emissions.

In FY2011, the Group pressed forward with measures to reduce waste emissions, including expansion of in-house reuse of waste plastic produced during plastic-molding processes and in-house recycling of rubble produced by dismantling of aluminum melting furnaces. As a result, waste emissions per ¥100 million in net sales in FY2011 fell by 5% from the previous fiscal year, to 17.1 tons. The Group is aiming for a 17% reduction in waste emissions per ¥100 million in net sales by FY2016 compared to FY2008 levels.

Waste emissions / sales unit
(From the Group's 10 main manufacturing companies in Japan)

Complete elimination of landfill waste (Aisin AW Industries)

Aisin AW Industries worked on reducing industrial waste through thorough separation of waste and measures to promote 3R^* activities, and thereby succeeded in completely eliminating output of landfill waste, at an early stage, in FY2003.

The Company has continued to recycle and reuse waste in its plants, and maintained its zero landfill waste output.

* 3R: Reduce, reuse and recycle

Recycling case studies

* Refuse paper & plastic fuel (RPF): Solid fuel formed mainly from refuse paper and waste plastic

Collecting and recycling 3,200 liters of cutting oil per month (Aisin AI)

Aisin AI has established a system for recovering and recycling cutting oil. Spent chips ejected from cutting devices are compressed to collect oil content. The collected oil is reused after impurities have been removed.

Cutting oil recycling process

Recycling condensate water generated within air conditioners (Aisin Kiko)

Aisin Kiko has built a system for recovering cold condensate water generated within air conditioners, and is reusing it to cool intake air in compressors and to supply hot and cold water generators. The system has been successful in improving compression efficiency of the compressors and in reducing power consumption.

Water recycling flow chart

Establishing a system for recycling spring mattresses

In FY2011, Aisin Seiki embarked on establishing a system for recycling spring mattresses.

Spring mattresses contain iron, which constitutes 55% to 60% of the total weight. However, spring mattresses in their original form cannot be crushed using shredder machines due to their low density. Therefore, it has not been conventionally possible to recover the iron contained in the mattresses.

To address this, the Company developed a device that compresses mattresses into small cubes that can be crushed using shredder machines. In addition, in partnership with a waste-processing company equipped with automobile-related recycling facilities, the company established a system that can recycle 300 mattresses a year.

Spring mattress recycling system

Environmentally-Considerate Construction Plans (Aisin Development Co., Ltd.)

The Company aims to reduce its impact on the environment beginning with the construction planning stage of every building. This includes the more efficient arrangement of insulation, sunlight controls and facilities aimed at conserving energy and reducing CO₂ emissions, as well as effectively utilizing natural energy and promoting greenery. We also select the construction method that will have the least impact on the surrounding environment and promote the 4 Rs^*.

* 4 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse (to buy, use or receive something that will become waste)