Environmental Management Environmental Sustainability Report 2005

Contribution to Environmental Protection through Products, Technologies and Services (3)

Recycle Recycling Vinyl Chloride Kobelco Eco-Solutions, Co., Ltd., the core environmental business company at Kobe Steel group, started the construction of a waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling plant in Futtsu, Chiba prefecture in March 2005. Kobelco Vinyloop® East Co., Ltd., a joint venture of Kobelco Eco-Solutions Co., Ltd. and Nippon Solvay (Japanese corporation of Solvay S. A., a Belgium chemical manufacturer), will undertake the recycling of waste PVC such as used agricultural materials, construction and interior materials, electric cables, and water pipes. The waste PVC will be recycled into regenerated PVC having the same quality as virgin plastic, using the Vinyloop® Process Solvey has developed. From 26,000 metric tons of waste PVC, 18,000 metric tons of recycled PVC can be produced. The plant will start operation in April 2006. This is the first plant in Japan for recycling waste PVC. The business was certified to receive an Eco-Town subsidy from the Ministry of the Environment and is anticipated to contribute to establishing a resource-recycling society. Features of Polyvinyl Chloride Recycling Recycles any PVC waste into regenerated PVC. Can be recycled as 100% pure PVC compound. Enables chemical composition adjustment by adding plastic materials and additives at the PVC recycling stage. The recycled PVC has the same level of rigidity, elongation, and insulation as the new material. Can be recycled and reused in the original application. Recycling waste fluorescent lights Most of the waste fluorescent lights had been landfilled as industrial waste. However, fluorescent lights contain minute quantity of mercury. From the perspective of preventing environmental pollution and treating wastes appropriately, it is strongly desired to render harmless waste fluorescent lights. On the other hand, some components of fluorescent lights are useful, such as fluorescent powder containing rare-earth elements and soda glass. Kobelco Eco-Solutions Co., Ltd. contributes to building a resource recycling society by recycling waste fluorescent tubes. Soda glass, fluorescent powder (3 wavelengths), aluminum and other materials are collected separately. Mercury is collected within a closed system without using water by a proprietary dry method. Recycling fluorescent lights Recycling of waste fluorescent lights wins the Merit Award of Eco Products Promotion Council This award is presented to companies for environmentally conscious products or services that is easily available to businesses and consumers. Kobelco Eco-Solutions Co., Ltd. was awarded for the high recyclability of fluorescent lights, one of the daily commodities. Both useful and hazardous substances are collected from used fluorescent lights, resulting in waste reduction and appropriate recycling. RPF Production Equipment The RPF production equipment produced and sold by Earth Technica Co., Ltd. accounts for more than a 50% share in the Japanese market. RPF (refuse paper and plastic fuel) is a high-calorie solid fuel produced by crushing and compressing used paper and waste plastic. Waste that used to be landfilled or simply incinerated can be recycled as fuel. Earth Technica has developed a selective system to remove metal or vinyl chloride, along with the pretreatment equipment, winning the Nikkei Superior Products and Services Award in 2000. Especially, Multi-Sorter, a plastic material sorter, uses near infrared light to detect wavelength differences, and blows away unnecessary substances by air. It can manage mass continuous treatment if the material is 3 cm or larger. RPF Production Flowchart Reusing waste tire chips Shinko Kenzai, Ltd. has developed a grating product ? a road ditch cover ? by reusing waste tire chip for surface material. It has superior water permeability from porous elastic painting. Also, it has improved non-slip characteristics compared to the conventional asphalt ones, putting highest priority on walker safety. The new product is expected to be used widely as it effectively utilizes resources and responds to barrier-free needs. New grating