Fuji Xerox's Recycling System
Reaches a New Stage

To further promote plastics recycling in Asia, Fuji Xerox and UMG ABS, LTD.^* will begin the export of recycled plastics to a Korean molding manufacturer. The exported recycled plastics will then be incorporated into copying machines to be imported back to Japan.

Fuji Xerox and UMG ABS, Ltd. (formerly Ube Cycon Ltd.) established a closed-loop system for ABS plastics recycling in March 1998 to incorporate recycled plastics to parts e.g. exterior panels of Fuji Xerox's digital multifunction machines. In this system, Fuji Xerox removes the plastic exterior panels from collected copying machines, breaks them down, cleans them and makes them into pellets. UMG ABS then manufactures recycled plastics incorporating more than 25 percent of these pellets, which become raw materials for molding manufacturers to produce exterior panels for Fuji Xerox's machines.

Along with shift of manufacturing to overseas sites and improvement in the manufacturing skills of Asian molding manufacturers, Fuji Xerox and UMG ABS investigated ways to expand their recycling plastics supplies to other Asian molding manufacturers. Through a close collaboration with Fuji Xerox Korea Co., Ltd. and a Korean molding manufacturer, they can now begin recycled plastics supply to Korea while maintaining high quality standards.

Plans also call for incorporating recycled plastics parts in low-end printers manufactured by Fuji Xerox of Shenzhen Ltd. in China by the end of 2002. Through this expansion of recycled plastics to other Asian countries, the amount of recycled plastics used in 2002 is expected to more than double the amount used in 2001.