Recycling technology for a recycling society and the consumer's expected consciousness: Recycling from the viewpoint of four items of home appliances

The concept of 'recycling' was adopted to solve the overuse of resources by mass production and mass consumption 14 of products in the 20th century. In the latter half of the 20th century, all companies started recycling activities slowly but positively, and some of them established their own recycling plants. This article introduces the processes through which used home appliances are made into materials (for reuse), and the machines, facilities, and methods for such reuse, as well as the results of their actual application by the study of a recycling plant. It is expected that this article would motivate the readers for recycling and to consider and feet what we, consumers, should do. (C) 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.