DOWA ECO-SYSTEM's Environmental Management & Recycling Division has the broad-based expertise and high level of technology that allows the recapture of seventeen (17) different metals, including gold and silver, derived from the refinement techniques developed in the metal mining and smelting industry. We are promoting the formation of a Recycling-Oriented Society by our treatment technology and our recycling network.

Recycling of 17 Different Metals

DOWA ECO-SYSTEM takes advantage of our advanced technology which was originally developed in DOWA's long-standing mining and refinement operations to extract precious metals such as gold and silver that are present in ores in very small concentrations. Currently, the Company recycles as many as seventeen (17) different metallic elements using advanced metallurgical technologies. The recovered metal resources are brought back into society as newborn products such as accessories, electric substrates, films, electrical wires, and so forth.

Platinum Group Metals Recycling

In 2003, DOWA Group established a new company in the United States, Nippon PGM America, Inc., which recycles platinum group metals, such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, from the catalytic converters used to purify automobile exhaust fumes.

Nippon PGM America, Inc., maintains a dominant share of the catalyst recycling business, not only in the domestic (Japanese) market, but also in the world market.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling

Two DOWA group companies, Eco-Recycle Co., Ltd. and Act-B Recycling Co., Ltd., disassemble or pulverize obsolete or inoperable home appliances (televisions, refrigerators, washing machine, air-conditioners, etc.), automobiles and office equipment (computers, copiers, phone systems, etc.) in order to recover recyclable material for DOWA Group's Kosaka Smelting & Refining Co., Ltd. The Kosaka facility makes efficient use of the incineration heat generated by the adjacent waste treatment facility operated by DOWA Group's ECO-SYSTEM AKITA to decompose ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gasses (chlorofluorocarbons) in the end-of-life automobiles, refrigerators and air conditioners by thermal treatment.

End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law-Compliance

DOWA Group quickly responded to the Law for Recycling End-of-Life Vehicles which became effective in Japan on January 1st, 2005. At ECO-SYSTEM KOSAKA facility, precious metals are recovered from Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR), which formerly was disposed of as simple waste, by using their “Metal and Steam Recycling Incinerator”.

The facility also recaptures the steam heat that is required for the process of refining the Automobile Shredder Residue and reuses it for energy in the recycling system. This method of collecting metal and steam simultaneously realizes a net reduction of environmental burdens and generates economic efficiencies.

In 2005, DOWA Group built an additional incinerator in West Japan, ECO-SYSTEM OKAYAMA, which established another location in Japan (in addition to ECO-SYSTEM KOSAKA in Northern Japan) for the processing of Automobile Shredder Residue.

Recovery of Precious Metals by Wet Process

DOWA Group's ECO-SYSTEM RECYCLING recaptures precious metals, such as gold, silver and platinum, out of high-grade recyclable materials through the Wet Process.

Current operations are based at Saitama and Okayama, and expansion of operations to China is moving forward, promoting the safe treatment of wastes and recycling of metal resources in China itself.

New Recycling-Only Furnace Currently Under Construction

Kosaka Smelting & Refining Co., Ltd. of DOWA Holdings Co., Ltd. is currently constructing a new furnace for the exclusive purpose of recycling, which is targeted to commence full-fledged operations in the spring of 2008. Materials to be processed include electronic substrates, scraps and residue containing precious metals and refractory ores. A total of 19 elements will be extracted (including for the first time, tin and nickel). The new furnace system is designed efficiently; it contributes enormously to the reduction of environmental burdens by reducing the amount of waste generated and utilizing slag efficiently.