Potential Evaluation of Total Materials Requirement Reduction by Materials Recycling of Home Appliances in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This study estimated potential amount of TMR (Total Materials Requirement) reduction for homeappliances (Air conditioner, Washing Machine, Refrigerator, Liquid-Crystal Television) by materials recycling for Fe, Cu, Al, and plastics in Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. The amount of TMR reduction indicates the difference between the TMR of materials obtained from natural and from recycling, so that means the effectiveness of materials recycling quantitatively. The result shows that the maximum annual TMR reductions by materials recycling are 8.5×10⁶ t in Thailand, 10.6×10⁶ t in Vietnam, and 43×10⁶ t in Japan. Especially, recycling of air conditioner, recycling for Cu significantly contributes to the TMR reduction.