Samsung Electronics is expanding the use of circular resources by recycling waste generated in semiconductor and home appliance production processes into raw materials.
Samsung Electronics said on the 4th that it had obtained a total of 38 circular resource recognitions as of August. Through this, it reduced annual waste by 6,859 tons last year.
The circular resource recognition system recognizes waste that meets certain standards—such as not harming human health or the environment and being economically viable—as a resource. Once recognized as a circular resource, it can be used as raw material and more without being subject to waste-related regulations.
Samsung Electronics' semiconductor (DS) division has expanded waste recycling and resource recovery since 2019, and as of August this year, obtained a cumulative 30 circular resource recognitions across all business sites.
One example is collecting and recycling the plastic trays used to carry semiconductor wafers. The DS division processed collected wafer trays into recycled plastic together with the Device eXperience (DX) division's Circular Economy Lab and used it as the material for the side key and volume key of the Galaxy S25 series.
Defective wafers generated during semiconductor production are also recycled. After crushing the defective wafers, a specialized materials company extracts silicon to make it into raw material for aluminum alloys, which is then supplied to industries such as aviation and construction.
Palladium (Pd) is recovered from the "diamond discs" used in the wafer polishing process. The recovered palladium is processed into compound raw materials and reused in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing.
The DX division is also expanding the conversion of waste generated at business sites into circular resources. In 2024, after reviewing waste generated at the Suwon, Gumi, and Gwangju business sites together with the Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco), it selected 20 items—including wastepaper, steel plates, washing machine drums, and trays—as targets for circular resource recognition.
Of these, it had obtained a total of eight circular resource recognitions for 12 items as of August this year. The remaining eight items are planned to be pursued for recognition by June 2027.
The Gwangju business site received circular resource recognition last year for residuals generated in the plastic molding process that creates the interior space of refrigerators. Previously, although the residuals were crushed and reused as raw material for Samsung Electronics products, they were classified as waste, requiring related procedures such as storage, transport, and submission of transfer statements. After the circular resource recognition, such management procedures were streamlined.
Work is also underway to reuse product packaging and waste generated during production as materials for home appliances. Samsung Electronics collected leftover packaging styrofoam after refrigerator and washing machine installations, reprocessed it into plastic material, and applied it to the interior parts of the domestically produced "Bespoke AI WindFree Combo Gallery" air conditioner and the "INFINITE AI air purifier."
Waste glass generated during manufacturing was recycled into a composite fiber material and applied to the outer wash tub of the all-in-one washer-dryer "Bespoke AI Combo." Materials recycled from used cooking oil are also being used in refrigerator storage compartments.
Samsung Electronics plans to further identify recyclable items at business sites and expand the use of circular resources by reinjecting materials recovered from waste into product raw materials and manufacturing processes.