Fuji Xerox has started to incorporate nine types of recycled plastic parts (ABS plastics), jointly developed with UMG ABS, Ltd., in its desktop office laser printers, the DocuPrint 211 and the DocuPrint 181. The process is employed at Fuji Xerox of Shenzhen Ltd. in China, making it the first time the Fuji Xerox has utilized recycled plastics in products manufactured overseas.
To make the recycled plastics, Fuji Xerox removes the plastic from collected copy machines, breaks it down, cleans it, eliminates anything that may affect the appearance or performance, and turns it into pellets. UMG ABS then mass-produces ABS plastics using more than 25 percent of these pellets, while maintaining high quality standards.
The recycled plastics were first employed in the exterior covers of digital multifunction products in Japan in March 1998. Fuji Xerox began the export of recycled plastics in 2002 to a Korean molding manufacturer, which crafted the plastics into parts for copying machines before sending them back to Japan, thus initiating a borderless recycling system.
The recycled plastics are now also sent to China where they are transformed into parts by Japanese molding manufacturers and integrated into the DocuPrint 211 and the DocuPrint 181 laser printers. The plastics are used in nine different areas, including unit covers and stoppers.
The amount of recycled plastics used by Fuji Xerox in fiscal 2004 is forecast to reach 1,000 tons, through its introduction in China's manufacturing site and expanded usage to include pallets to transport products.
