Japanese firms appear to be taking the lead in environmental investments—including those related to electronics recycling—according to a new report published this week by Raymond Communications Inc., College Park, Md.
Conglomerate Matsushita Electric invested nearly $500 million on environmental compliance, recycling, and “eco-design” projects in 2000, according to “Electronics Recycling: What to Expect from Global Mandates.”
While Matsushita was the leader, other Japanese manufacturers also spent considerably on such programs. Sony Corp. spent about $154 million, but does not include eco-design in its figures, according to Michele Raymond, one of the report’s authors.
On this side of the Pacific, IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., spent $109 million on compliance only, but claimed it got back $193 million in savings and avoided compliance costs. (No other American firm disclosed its investments.)
The new 197-page report covers U.S. state and federal electronics recycling legislation, as well as detailed coverage of electronics recycling laws in 16 countries, including Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Additionally, the report summarizes what 28 major electronics firms are doing in recycling, waste reduction, “design for environment,” and related issues.
The report’s national summaries include collection fees and recycling rates in the more advanced European countries. The report includes results of a 50-state survey of electronics recycling policy, including opinions of state recycling managers.
An extended appendix includes English texts of electronics recycling laws and documents from 10 countries, including Japan and Taiwan.
More information on the report can be found at the Raymond Communications Web site, www.raymond.com, or by calling (301) 345-4237.
The regular version of the report is on sale for $250 until the end of June, while the version with the extended appendix is $380.