Initiatives for "Resource Recycling"

The 3R concept (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) is becoming ever more important in all phases of product life cycles, from development and production to use and final disposal, in order to create a recycling-oriented society. The Yamaha Motor Group set "promoting recycling and the effective use of limited resources" as a goal and has undertaken various initiatives to meet it.

Going forward, we will continue to adopt various approaches to conserve natural resources and enhance recycling efficiency. In addition to actively utilizing recyclable materials, we are reducing the number of parts and making them smaller by pursuing optimal size. We also use LED technologies to lengthen product life while adopting designs that facilitate dismantling and improving the recyclability of parts. Our aim is to improve the applicability of the 3R concept to our products.

Reduction of New Resource Use through the Use of Renewable Resources

3R Designs and Product Recycling

The Yamaha Motor Group is proactively incorporating the "3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) design" in its various products. In Japan, we continue to work with other companies in our industry in the "motorcycle recycling system" for appropriate disposal by stores handling motorcycle scrapping. We also participate in a similar "recycling system for small FRP boats" in the marine segment, and are also implementing "renewal, reduce, reuse, recycle" initiatives for FRP pools.

3R Design in Motorcycles

DiASiL cylinder (Die-casting Aluminum–Silicon Cylinder)
Yamaha Motor was the first manufacturer in the world to develop a cylinder with the DiASil. It used the controlled filling (CF) die-casting technology to make an aluminum alloy containing higher silicon possible for using, which had been considered very difficult for the castings. The manufacturing technique makes mass-production to be realized for all-aluminum cylinders that had excellent sliding characteristics without a sleeve, and increases wear resistance, production efficiency, obtains good recyclability.

Motorcycle Recycling System

The motorcycle recycling system in Japan is a voluntary initiative to promote the appropriate disposal of scrapped motorcycles and the recycling and reuse of resources and to achieve a recycling-oriented society. In 2020, Our recycling rate was 97.8%. Along with promoting the use of the motorcycle recycling system, the Yamaha Motor Group takes responsibility for the appropriate disposal and recycling of Yamaha end-of-life motorcycles that customers wish to scrap.

Recycling System for Small FRP Boats

The recycling system for small boats (boats, yachts, personal watercraft, fishing boats, etc.) made from glass fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) is mainly carried out by the Japan Marine Industry Association's FRP Boat Recycling Center. After scrapped FRP boats are taken to subcontracted, designated collection centers and roughly disassembled, FRP materials are taken to an intermediate processing center where they are crushed and sorted, and finally calcined to cement for recycling (material thermal recycling).

Yamaha Motor participates in this recycling system, and takes responsibility for appropriately disposing of and recycling FRP boats that customers wish to scrap and have recycled.

FRP Pool—Renewal

Yamaha Motor contributes to the realization of a recycling-oriented society by developing technology for creating environmentally friendly pools that leverage the merits of FRP materials. Yamaha Motor's renewal construction method makes the most of the structures of existing concrete pools, and therefore it minimizes the crushing noise generated by vibration drills and operating noise of large heavy machinery during disassembly. Moreover, while disassembling concrete pools normally produces about 350 tons of waste materials, this method requires only partial removal of the existing structure, reducing the amount of waste materials by approximately 85%. Compared with typical reconstruction and renewal work, it significantly reduces environmental burden.

Full renewal construction method

This is a basic construction method that makes the most of an existing concrete pool in renewing it as an FRP pool.
The original concrete pool is covered with an FRP renewal unit that is secured with special stays. A layer of sand filled underneath the FRP floor panel serves as a cushion to reduce impact.
Full renewal using this method is completed in approximately 45 days, much shorter than the average construction period required to build a new pool.

Pit renewal construction method

Old concrete pools often have buried pipes, which require a considerable amount of time and effort to deal with any pipe problems. With the pit renewal construction method, new piping pits are installed between the existing concrete pool and the FRP unit. This ensures the new pool can be maintained more easily with minimal costs.

FRP Pool—Reduce

In a recycling-oriented society, reducing waste is the top priority. FRP pools boast excellent corrosion and earthquake resistance and a long service life, enabling them to be used over an extended period of time by providing regular maintenance. The first school pool delivered more than 40 years ago in 1978 is still safely used today.

FRP Pool—Reuse

Yamaha Motor's FRP reuse construction method employs a unique modular construction that enables the pools to be disassembled and relocated for reuse.

FRP Pool—Recycle

FRP materials can be recycled in various ways, such as melting them so that they can be reused as resources and heat recovery (power generation). Now, they can also be recycled to be used as materials and a thermal energy source for making Portland cement. With these methods, FRP can be recycled at a rate of almost 100%.

Measures to Reduce Waste and Conserve Resources at the Manufacturing Stage

In 2020, Yamaha Motor generated a total of 16.5 thousand tons of waste.^*1 We separate metal, plastic, foundry sand, and other waste for reuse and recycling as raw materials. We also subject oil and some plastics to a thermal recycling process to create materials that can be used as combustion improvers. In addition, we use post-combustion residue as a raw material in cement and roadbeds. As a result, we have maintained our direct and indirect landfill record of "zero tons" (a 100% recycling rate).

The Yamaha Motor Group began tracking its volume of waste from 2016. Group companies in Japan and overseas have been working to reduce their volumes of waste by thoroughly separating waste, introducing returnable packing materials, and using longer-lasting cutting fluids and oils. The Yamaha Motor Group's waste material volume （Boundary: 134 companies within the scope of global environmental consolidation） in 2020 was 40.7 thousand tonsExternal Assurance.

*1 Aggregate volume of materials discharged (including industrial waste, specially controlled industrial waste and materials with value)

*2 Industrial waste materials that are explosive, poisonous, infectious, or otherwise harmful or potentially harmful to human health or the environment

Measuring and Reducing Water Consumption

The Yamaha Motor Group is working to reduce consumption of water. In accordance with our 2050 goal of "reducing water usage in production activities," we continue to strive to measure our global use of water and reduce consumption Groupwide through programs including the reuse of coolant water and water collection (rainwater and other sources) at factories, the reuse of water using reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, posters to remind employees to conserve water, and the installation of water-saving packing in faucets.

In 2019, Yamaha Motor's water intake volume was 1,078 thousand m³ and wastewater volume was 1,181 thousand m³External Assurance.

Boundary: 134 companies within the scope of global environmental consolidation