The FUJIFILM Environmental Report/2001 Edition

ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING
1. The Container and Packaging Recycling Law
On April 1, 2000, Japan’s Container and Packaging Recycling
Law came into full effect. This law is designed to reduce the
volume of container and packaging materials, which account for
some 60% by volume of all household garbage, and encourage
the recycling of garbage into reusable materials.
Fujifilm products use large amounts of paper and plastic
packaging of the type designated for compulsory recycling by
the law. Therefore, we have decided to assume the expenses of
calculating what volume of packaging needs to be recycled
under the law and of entrusting the recycling work to Japan
Container and Packaging Recycling Association.
2. Progress in Reducing Container and Packaging Garbage
The basic policy of reducing packaging waste consists of the
3Rs, reduce, reuse, and recycle. Fujifilm applies these principles
as effectively as possible according to the nature of the product;
however, it places priority on reduction, to keep the environmental
burden to a minimum.
◆ Example of reduction
Fujifilm has stopped using plastic cases for APS films and has
substituted them with aluminum steam-adhesive packaging to
reduce the environmental burden. The changeover was
completed in May 2001.
◆ Example of reuse
We reuse cartridges (developing and fixing solution containers)
for the CEPROS automatic developing system for medical-use
film, after recovering them from hospitals all over the country and
cleaning and inspecting them.
◆ Example of recycling
Plastic film cases are recovered from large laboratories,
shredded, and reused as base materials for other Fujifilm
products.
In fiscal 2000, we reduced the volume of paper containers and
packaging generated by domestic marketing activities by 315
tons and the volume of plastic containers and packaging by 139
tons (in both cases, compared with fiscal 1999, and based on the
definitions of the Container and Packaging Recycling Law).
3. Further Reducing Packaging
• Standards for the assessment of the environmental impact of
packaging
In 1995, Fujifilm established standards for assessing the
environmental burden of its packaging in semi-quantifiable
terms. In 2001, this standard was revised, making possible
clearer comparisons of old and new products and furthering the
cause of reducing the environmental burden.
• Container and packaging database
Before, container and packaging databases were operated
separately by each department, but now a single system serving
the whole Company is under development. This will make it
possible to integrate packaging material purchase management
systems and LCA inventory data, helping us create more
environment-friendly designs for containers and packaging. The
system is scheduled to come on stream in 2002.
Volumes of containers and packaging used in Japan
(Tons)
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
8,701
4,283
8,721
1998 1999
3,982
Paper containers and packaging
Plastic containers and packaging
8,406
3,843
2000
(Fiscal year)
13