Re-Tem’s business has two major components: the “hard” one of resource recycling and the “soft” one of consulting services. The two are closely coordinated with each other. For example, we are commissioned for individual cases of consolation through receipt of consignments for recycling of industrial waste, and for provision of waste treatment management services through programs of environmental education.

Waste recycling project

Founded in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1909, Re-Tem Corporation runs a business of recycling and reuse for ferrous composite materials and electric and electronic appliances at its two plants in Mito and Tokyo. The notion of urban mines has been kept in mind throughout this history. Valuable resources lie dormant in products discarded in large quantities in urban areas.
Re-Tem’s Tokyo plant was constructed in the Tokyo Super Eco Town in Jonanjima, Ota-ku, and has been in operation since 2005. It mainly recycles a huge volume of metal waste emitted in the capital region into resources and recycles personal computers, cell phones and other information appliances, vending machines, automated teller machines (ATMs) and other large-sized metal devices. In the recycling process, it takes a processing approach best suited to individual items, which are manually disassembled to remove toxic and hazardous substances prior to recycling. A special high-performance pulverizing machine sorts metal devices into non-ferrous and non-metal mixtures. The non-ferrous metal mixture is transported to the Mito plant, where it is further crushed into finer pieces and recycled into resources to attain a zero-emission practice.
Re-Tem measures life cycle assessment (LCA) data in its plants and utilizes green power in its efforts to cut energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Environmental issues that encompass all of society cannot easily be sorted out merely by running a hardware business for resource recovery, so Re-Tem capitalizes on its long-accumulated expertise in recycling and its unique and continually evolving management system for providing higher forms of eco-management services.

Re-Tem’s Tokyo Plant

Consulting business

Environment consulting

Drawing on the deep store of know-how and experience accumulated over its long years of work in waste treatment and resource recycling, Re-Tem provides consulting services in all sorts of environmental fields, mainly related to waste. We also supply solutions through activities that are not confined to the proposal of plans but also cover all phases from the actual launch of projects to the stage of operation.

• Waste management
• Optimization of waste recycling costs
• LCA evaluation and analysis of the waste recycling stage
• Support for introduction of carbon footprint
• Consultation regarding all environmental laws and regulations
• Assistance in acquisition of recognition for wide-area processing

Environmental education

Re-Tem actively supports environmental education in diverse fields for companies, public agencies, and educational institutions. The students themselves take an active part in classes held on key words such as “look”, “listen”, “feel”, and “experience”, and learn about the importance of the environment, resources, and recycling.

Eco-management introduction and proxy services

Re-Tem surveys personnel in charge of management and operation of sustainable cities and eco-industrial parks as well as managers in the environmental departments of local governments regarding the problems they face and their goals in order to provide assistance in a wide array of areas including the resource cycle in an entire community, CO2 reduction planning, introduction of environmental technologies and implementation of environmental measures. Re-Tem establishes linkage between environmental activities implemented by the government sector, businesses and local residents, aiming to further reduce environmental impact in the community.

Re-Tem also undertakes performance of local eco-management services based on the concept of eco-management on behalf of operation and management centers for sustainable cities, eco-cities and eco-industrial parks and of local governments’ departments responsible for management of environmental activities.

Global business

Re-Tem is consulted about resources and waste by organizations in countries around the world. It is also receiving increasing requests for assistance from Japanese firms building up their presence in other countries. At present, it is avidly promoting the development of global business, at four locations in the United States and China.

Operation of a factory in China Name: Re-Tem (China) Corporation Incorporation: September 2004 Startup: November 2010 Place: Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China Description: recycling of industrial waste from Chinese and Japanese firms with high-grade technology of recycling including manual dismantling and separation Appearance of Re-Tem’s factory in China

Establishment of an environmental management firm in Beijing

Name: Re-Tem (Beijing) Environmental Technology & Consulting Co., Ltd.
Incorporation: November 2008
Startup: November 2010
Place: Beijing, China
Description: consultation about resource circulation and energy conservation, surveys of the Chinese market, and other services for Chinese administrative entities, local firms, and Japanese firms

Support for an eco center in Tianjin Name: Tianjin TEDA Eco Center Incorporation: since 2008 Startup: November 2010 Place: Tiajin, China Description: support for an eco center to serve as a hub of environment-related information sharing, technology exhibits, and R&D in the Tianjin economic development area (TEDA)

Establishment of an environmental management firm in Seattle Name: Re-Tem Global Eco Management Inc. Incorporation: February 2011 Place: Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Description: consultation about resource circulation and energy conservation, surveys of the U.S. market, and other services for U.S. administrative entities, local firms, and Japanese firms