52
3.3.1 Supply Chain Implications of Recycling End Products:
Reductions of the Resources Used in Upstream Suppliers
We know that all electric and electronic appliances we consider here are manufactured products whose production processes consist of many stages of inputs from
the upstream suppliers. Many of these upstream inputs are basic and precious metals which remain in the final products as the output from the relevant supply chains.
For this reason, it is important to look at the behavior of not only the final product
Electronic-waste but also many inputs of electronic nature (electronic commodities)
that were used in the upstream production processes of the supply chains. For these
reasons, we consider Electronic-wastes as consisting of toxic and nontoxic wastes
generated throughout the upstream stages by suppliers of the supply chain.
For example, the first and third panels of Table 3.7, respectively, show the
amounts of industrial wastes that are generated by one million yen worth of production of personal computers and one million yen worth of production of mobile
phones. These wastes generated consist of 37 types of industrial wastes in all selfand other industry sectors that form the upstream stages of the supply chains.
Table 3.3 shows the waste outputs for the top five industry sectors, as well as the
total amounts of industrial wastes generated for each electronic product. The
amounts that were landfilled of the final wastes generated after the recycling and
process treatments are presented in Table 3.8. For example, the first panel of
Table 3.8 shows that after recycling and processing of Electronic-wastes, one
million yen worth of personal computer production generated 7.8 kg of residual to
be landfilled.
Table 3.6 Metals included in the used small electric and electronic appliances
Metals (tons)
Total: small appliances
Mobile phones
PCs
Iron (Fe)
230,105
418
16,845
Aluminum (Al)
24,708
50
3914
Copper (Cu)
22,789
1001
2730
Lead (Pb)
740
19
220
Zinc (Zn)
649
44
70
Silver (Ag)
68.9
10.5
21.1
Gold (Au)
10.6
1.9
4.5
Antimony (Sb)
117.5
2.3
43.5
Tantalum (Ta)
33.8
3.2
14.9
Tungsten (W)
33.0
27.1
1.1
Neodymium (Nd)
26.4
18.9
–
Cobalt (Co)
7.5
2.2
–
Bismuth (Bi)
6.0
0.7
0.8
Palladium (Pd)
4.0
0.5
2.1
Source: Compiled by the authors using information for public use from the Japanese Ministry of
Environment (2012)
H. Hayami and M. Nakamura
3.3.1 Supply Chain Implications of Recycling End Products:
Reductions of the Resources Used in Upstream Suppliers
We know that all electric and electronic appliances we consider here are manufactured products whose production processes consist of many stages of inputs from
the upstream suppliers. Many of these upstream inputs are basic and precious metals which remain in the final products as the output from the relevant supply chains.
For this reason, it is important to look at the behavior of not only the final product
Electronic-waste but also many inputs of electronic nature (electronic commodities)
that were used in the upstream production processes of the supply chains. For these
reasons, we consider Electronic-wastes as consisting of toxic and nontoxic wastes
generated throughout the upstream stages by suppliers of the supply chain.
For example, the first and third panels of Table 3.7, respectively, show the
amounts of industrial wastes that are generated by one million yen worth of production of personal computers and one million yen worth of production of mobile
phones. These wastes generated consist of 37 types of industrial wastes in all selfand other industry sectors that form the upstream stages of the supply chains.
Table 3.3 shows the waste outputs for the top five industry sectors, as well as the
total amounts of industrial wastes generated for each electronic product. The
amounts that were landfilled of the final wastes generated after the recycling and
process treatments are presented in Table 3.8. For example, the first panel of
Table 3.8 shows that after recycling and processing of Electronic-wastes, one
million yen worth of personal computer production generated 7.8 kg of residual to
be landfilled.
Table 3.6 Metals included in the used small electric and electronic appliances
Metals (tons)
Total: small appliances
Mobile phones
PCs
Iron (Fe)
230,105
418
16,845
Aluminum (Al)
24,708
50
3914
Copper (Cu)
22,789
1001
2730
Lead (Pb)
740
19
220
Zinc (Zn)
649
44
70
Silver (Ag)
68.9
10.5
21.1
Gold (Au)
10.6
1.9
4.5
Antimony (Sb)
117.5
2.3
43.5
Tantalum (Ta)
33.8
3.2
14.9
Tungsten (W)
33.0
27.1
1.1
Neodymium (Nd)
26.4
18.9
–
Cobalt (Co)
7.5
2.2
–
Bismuth (Bi)
6.0
0.7
0.8
Palladium (Pd)
4.0
0.5
2.1
Source: Compiled by the authors using information for public use from the Japanese Ministry of
Environment (2012)
H. Hayami and M. Nakamura