Platinum
100%
Gold
95 ~ 99%
Silver
90 ~ 94%
Certified
80%+
The Zero Waste to Landfill validation, from the global safety certification organization UL, is a key indicator in evaluating a company’s steps toward a circular economy. Companies are awarded different levels of designations based on the percentage of waste used as resources.
Certification is divided into Platinum, Gold, and Silver grades according to waste-to-resource circulation rate. As a result of the company’s consistent efforts toward acquiring the highest Platinum grade of “Zero Waste to Landfill” certification, all five Samsung Semiconductor plants in South Korea and two in China obtained the Platinum grade in 2022, while one plant in the US maintained its Gold grade certification from 2021.
Gold (95~99% waste diversion)
Platinum (100% waste diversion)
Hwaseong
Giheung
Pyeongtaek
Onyang
Cheonan
Xi’an
Suzhou
Austin
In October 2020, the Samsung Semiconductor Onyang site became the first in the industry to obtain the “Quality Mark Certification for Circular Resources” from Korea Environmental Industry Technology Institute. As a result of its effort made according to the Framework Act on Resources Circulation, which has been enforced since 2018, Onyang Site obtained recognition for circular resources in November 2019, and subsequently won the Quality Mark Certification for the first time in Korea’s electrical and electronic industry in October 2020. Quality Mark Certification for Circular Resources is a system to certify the quality of circular resources that make waste generated from a business site useful. Samsung's Giheung Site also obtained the Quality Mark Certification for Circular Resources in 2021.
The items for which Giheung Site and Onyang Site obtained the Quality Mark Certification for Circular Resources are the eight-inch wafer box and IC tray. A wafer box is a transport container for wafers, which are used throughout the semiconductor package process from product development to shipment, and an IC tray is a transport container for products. By obtaining the Quality Mark Certification for Circular Resources, the two business sites can directly supply wafer boxes and IC trays, which were categorized as waste in the past, to resource recycling companies without having to go through intermediary treatment companies. The amount of waste generation reduced consequently amounts to approximately 1,213 tons a year. In 2021, the certification was additionally obtained for the eight-inch wafer boxes generated at Samsung's Giheung Site, and three types of nonferrous metal at the Giheung Site, Hwaseong Site, and Pyeongtaek Site. The amount of waste generation that can be reduced consequently amounts to as much as approximately 1,903 tons a year.
*A first in Korea*
2020
2 items
8-inch wafer box
IC-Tray
2021
3 items
8” wafer box (Giheung)
3 types of nonferrous
metal (Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek)
2021
3 items
8” wafer box (Giheung)
3 types of nonferrous
metal (Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek)
2021
3 items
8” wafer box (Giheung)
3 types of nonferrous
metal (Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek)
Approx. 1,213 tons
(8-inch wafer box,
IC-Tray)
Approx. 1,903 tons (8” wafer box (Giheung), 3 types of nonferrous metal (Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek))
Approx.
1,213 tons
Approx.
1,903 tons
2020
2021
Approx. 1,213 tons
(8-inch wafer box,
IC-Tray)
Approx. 1,903 tons
(8” wafer box (Giheung), 3 types of nonferrous metal (Giheung, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek))
Since 2018, we have had a goal of becoming zero waste, studying the recycling of different kinds of waste and investing heavily in the necessary facilities.
We also provide our partners with financial support in building extended facilities, and we conduct research to improve the efficiency of dehydration pumps and filters. And at Samsung, we all worked together to separate recyclables and minimize our use of disposable products, leading to a reduction in incinerated waste by roughly 285 tons per year.
We also received the honor of a Presidential Citation for Leading Companies in Resource Recirculation in 2019. But beyond Zero Waste to Landfill validations and Presidential Citations, our true honor is knowing that we’re creating a sustainable future.
*UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validations:
Giheung - Platinum, Hwaseong - Platinum,
Pyeongtaek - Platinum, Onyang - Platinum, Cheonan - Platinum
Zero Waste to Landfill is validated by UL, a global safety certification organization that gives out platinum, gold, and silver designations based on the percentage of waste used as resources.
This is a key indicator in evaluating a company’s steps toward a circular economy. UL was established in the U.S. in 1894 as an international certification testing agency providing the development and certification of product testing standards and is considered a highly trusted safety certification in the U.S.
Former UL CEO Keith Williams stated in a media interview that the reason why U.S. consumers feel relieved when they see the UL logo is because UL gained credibility through its uncompromising testing process.
We are proud to have passed this strict UL validation process, becoming the first company in Korea to earn the highest platinum level of validation.
Circulating resources means waste that does not contain harmful or foreign substances and are highly valuable, so they can be traded. The Recycling Resource Quality certification can be obtained by meeting the standards as set by a quality review from the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute under the Ministry of Environment. Through the Recycling Resource Recognition System, certified resources are recognized as zero waste and having high-utilization value and quality; as a result, they are excluded from various waste-related regulations.
Improving
production
processes
Researching
waste diversion
Samsung
employee
campaigns
That’s the average resource circulation rate at Samsung Semiconductor sites that achieved Zero Waste to Landfill validations.
99.8% means that more than 962,000 of the 965,000 tons of waste generated across all Samsung Semiconductor plants are recycled or recovered as thermal energy. Approximately 110,000 more tons of waste were recycled over the previous year.
In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, 110,000 tons of waste converts to approximately 13,000 tons of CO₂ per year.
Absorbing such an amount of carbon dioxide would need around 3,170,000 pine trees.*
*Sources:
1. “Carbon Report Emission Coefficient” in The Emission Coefficient of General and Hazardous Waste Incineration
2. The number of trees was converted based on the data for the 10-year average greenhouse gas offset of planted trees provided by the US EPA to offset greenhouse gas emissions through waste recycling
It’s a pine forest 270x the size of Central Park in
New York City.* That's the same amount of greenhouse
gases that this forest offsets in a year!
From helping us in our everyday lives to protecting
the Earth, chips do more than you think.
*Source:
New York City Central Park CO₂ absorption¹⁾ ÷ Recycled waste (18,000 tons of CO₂/year)
1. The area of forest was converted based on the data for 1-year average greenhouse gas offset of planted trees provided by the US EPA to offset greenhouse gas emissions through waste recycling
2. 3.41 million m² (Source: https://www.centralparknyc.org/park-history / 843 acres = 3.41 million m²)
Wastewater sludge is generated in the process of purifying the water to make semiconductors. We developed the technology to extract crude copper from this sludge. And in partnership with Hyundai Steel, we jointly developed technology to reuse wastewater sludge as an essential material in making steel. By continuing to invest in such innovative technology, we are able to turn waste into valuable resources.
Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC) is created during the semiconductor packing process and helps protect semiconductors from external environmental factors such as humidity, heat and impact. Through steady research, Samsung Semiconductor was able to develop technology to recycle EMC into material that can be used to make plastic.
Waste containing CV dust from production lines can explode if it is burned, so it has to go to landfills. Thanks to unfaltering material research and technology development, we succeeded in extracting valuable metals such as gold and tungsten from the CV dust. Samsung Semiconductor even recycles dust! Through a thorough analysis of raw materials and devotion to technological innovation, Samsung Semiconductor was able to discover great value in the smallest dust particles.
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