We are the first people in the Japanese cable industry to start building a recycling plant to use the waste incurred through production processes as raw materials to make RDF.

RDF ( Refuse Derived Fuel) is solid fuel generated from refuse, made by compressing & solidifying the combustible waste from waste paper & discarded plastic etc. The RDF we are making is made up of a ratio of 3 parts waste paper: 2 parts wood chips: 5 parts discarded plastic. This combination has been structured to have the same calorific rate as coal- about 21,000 - 25,000kJ (@5,000 - 6,000kcal/kg).

Although we currently have 7 plants in Ibaraki and Aomori, the RDF Recycling Plant is being built at the Toyoura Works (Ibaraki). The plan is to collect burnable waste for making RDF, not just from this plant, but also from other plants based in Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki: Densen Works, Hitaka Works, Takasago Works and Minato Works. Production capacity stands at 4.8 t/d ( about 105t/m), and we believe that we will be able to offer users RDF as a heat source in September 1997. The building of the RDF Recycling Plant will make it possible to easily transport & store waste as solid fuel, and of course we hope that it will have a big effect on the ability to greatly reduce the amount of emitted waste.

We consider that confronting the challenge of actively preserving the environment on a world scale is of high importance and so we formed Hitachi Cable Environmental Committee in 1993. Furthermore in March 1993 we drew up The Hitachi Cable Environmental Protection Conduct Guide and The Environmental Protection Action Plan (Voluntary Plan)which have been acted upon by the whole enterprise. The main themes our 'Voluntary Plan' deals with are: the 'Prevention of Global Warming' & the 'Abolition of Ozone Damaging Substances', together with the 'Promotion of Recycling'. We are now, company wide, actively pursing the set target of reducing the emitted waste level, calculated in 1991, by 50% by the turn of the century. Over the 5 years since then our production techniques have advanced meaning a reduction in the rate of the occurrence of waste and disposal taking place more thoroughly and calculatedly, this in itself is pushing forward the concept of recycling etc. The 50% reduction rate will be met by the RDF Recycling Plant, nevertheless even after completion we fully intend to be kinder to the environment through enterprise management.