Ricoh 2012 Annual Report Download - page 69

Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 2012 68
Top Message About us Our Activities
Sustainable Environmental Management
Data
Removal of residue using resin film Separation and discharge of residue
Incorporating the ease of recycling into
product design
Recyclable design is an essential approach to promoting resource
conservation and product recycling. To introduce recyclable design, an
organization that is now known as the Design for Environment Workshop
was established in 1993. The workshop formulated the company’s first
recyclable design policy based on the Comet Circle, and has built up
know-how in various areas, such as the grading of plastic mould parts,
strength design considering future reuse as well as the reduction of
packaging materials, the reuse of high value-added parts, recycling of
high-quality materials, and improvement in the ease of disassembling
and sorting.
After designing MFPs and printers, designers carry out recyclable
design self-assessments to make necessary improvements, and in doing
so, the consideration that designers impart to recycling has already
become a part of their core design process.
Recyclable design
Recycling technologies
● Technology for forecasting used product
collection volumes
Making contributions to well-planned sales
of recycled copiers
Ricoh has developed a new technique for forecasting the volume of
used products to be collected from the market. Given the nature of the
products and the fact that recycled copiers are made from collected used
copiers, an accurate collection volume forecast is particularly important
to conduct this business in a well-planned manner. Using related data
in our customer data base such as headcounts and numbers of copies
printed, we prepare detailed forecasts, e.g., number of units, types of
models, how many copies printed and which region they will be collected
from, and during which period (monthly, semi-annually, annually). Such
forecasts allow us to develop and implement plans on product design,
development, production, and sales.
● Dry washing technology
Stain removal without the use of water
Recycling can never be labeled effective if it generates a significant
impact on the environment. Based on this recognition, Ricoh has been
making solid progress in developing resource-recirculating production
systems. The development of original dry washing technology is among
the latest examples of these systems.
To recycle parts stained with toner, we previously employed an
ultrasonic cleaning process that required the use of water, which
inevitably involved wastewater treatment and energy consumption to dry
the washed parts. With the newly developed technology, which cleans
to a quality comparable to ultrasonic cleaning processes, toner stains
are scraped off the parts by blasting them with tiny sheets of film, rather
than water, at high speed. This new technology has been in practical use
since 2007, mainly in the organic photoconductor unit cartridge recycling
process both in Japan and overseas, and has led to considerably shorter
operation times and less energy use than wastewater treatment and
drying processes.
■ Recyclable design front cover
● The spot on the cover where the
product name decal (sticker) is
attached
By making a hole on the front cover at the
spot where the product name label is
attached, the label can be easily removed
by inserting a screwdriver through the hole.
Decal
Cover Screwdriver
● Surface of the outer cover
The surface must be designed for easy
cleaning and drying for recycling. The
ditch on the covering and operation
surfaces must be 2 mm or larger in width
and 2 mm or smaller in depth with a
bottom round with R0.5 mm or larger
(except for figures and letter inscriptions).
● Label positioned on
one part
It is more difficult to
dismantle the unit if the label
covers more than one part.
● Compatible label
Compatible labels do not have
to be removed for recycling.
2 mm or larger
(width of the ditch)
2 mm or
smaller
(depth)
R0.5 mm
or larger
Residue
Residue
Resin film Resin film Residue
collection
port
Discharge
Accurate forecast even
for large variance
■ Collection volume forecast
Actual volume
Forecast
Collection volume
Period after product launch (months)
Comet Circle See page 62
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