Panasonic Eco Technology Center Co., Ltd. (PETEC) recycles end-of-life flat-panel TVs, washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other home appliances in Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture. On July 25 it held a workshop to disassemble flat-panel TVs, its first in three years, with 301 elementary school students joining over the summer vacation.
PETEC boasts of a recycling rate of over 90%. Its workers describe their job as treasure hunting, seeking out resources dormant in the heaps of end-of-life home appliances they have gathered to be brought to life again as new materials.
In the disassembly workshop children armed with screwdrivers remove parts from flat-panel TVs to sort out those that can be recycled. By doing so they gain the opportunity to see, touch, and learn directly about how PETEC makes effective use of resources and about how difficult yet important recycling is.
Comments from the elementary school students who took part show how it raised their environmental awareness.
"I didn't know Panasonic had a factory like this. From now on I'll try to sort my garbage properly instead of throwing it all into the trash." "I'm going to try to make even better use of the recycled goods we have."
