Most of the resources used to make products can be recycled. However, for recycling, we need special technologies and highlevel sorting methods. With our facility devoted to recycling, PETEC, Panasonic is promoting various initiatives to recover and reuse resources from old products.

Panasonic Eco Technology Center Co., Ltd. (PETEC) in Kato city, Hyogo, Japan, was opened in April 2001 as an advanced center of operations for recycling-oriented manufacturing.
Under the concept of treasure hunting, the latest recycling technologies are deployed here to recover resources from used products and to make new products. The center also actively welcomes tour groups so that more people can use the facility as a live tool for environmental education.

Resin-sorting machine at PETEC

PETEC overview
Established: April 4, 2000
Opened: April 1, 2001
Discarded units processed annually: 1.44 million (FY2010)
Annual tour visitors: 12,300 (FY2010)

Resources recycled between
FY2001 and FY2010
Iron: 121,000 tons Copper: 19,000 tons
Aluminium: 10,000 tons Resin: 42,000 tons

Used products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, CRT televisions, and flatpanel televisions are all recycled in the same sequence: Dismantling by hand -> Shredding -> Sorting -> Processing.
At PETEC, special recycling technologies have been designed to recover each individual resource (such as iron, copper, and plastic) from the used products.

Dismantling televisions by hand

Dismantled washing machines ready for shredding

In order to properly promote resources recycling, it is important to consider recycling issues when the products are first developed. We communicate a variety of know-how and key observations to our product development sites - covering issues such as reducing the number of components or different materials, using eco-friendly and easy-torecycle materials, and designing products for easier dismantling.

Training of design for recycling