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A lush forest of green pine trees.

We contribute to resource circularity through waste recycling

Samsung Semiconductor obtained UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill Validation from the Ministry of Environment.

From
waste to energy,
Ends of rusted pipes in a pile. Soil contaminated by a landfill full of waste. Densely packed trees covered in a mist.
from energy to life

From waste
to energy,
Ends of rusted pipes in a pile. Soil contaminated by a landfill full of waste.
from energy
to life
Densely packed trees covered in a mist.

A vast green forest with a body of water in the center.

Samsung Semiconductor’s bright future
is built on efforts to reuse waste.
The Earth and environment are the
start and end of our journey.

By reducing the
amount of resources
we use and recycling
them after use,
we can turn waste into energy and
energy into
life in a continuous
cycle.

With Samsung Semiconductor,
life looks a little brighter.

Recycling is as important as using

Recycling is as important as using

The Samsung Semiconductor site in Pyeongtaek, behind a flower bed with blooming flowers

Zero Waste to Landfill
validation level

Infographic showing the percentages of the Zero Waste to Landfill certification: 100% is Platinum, 95-99% is Gold, 90-94% is Silver, and 80% or more is Certified.
  • Platinum

    100%

  • Gold

    95 ~ 99%

  • Silver

    90 ~ 94%

  • Certified

    80%+

The Zero Waste to Landfill validation, from the global safety certification organization UL, is a key indicator in evaluating a company’s steps toward a circular economy. Companies are awarded different levels of designations based on the percentage of waste used as resources.

Certification is divided into Platinum, Gold, and Silver grades according to waste-to-resource circulation rate. As a result of the company’s consistent efforts toward acquiring the highest Platinum grade of “Zero Waste to Landfill Validation", all five Samsung Semiconductor manufacturing sites in South Korea and two in China attained the Platinum grade in 2023, while one plant in the US maintained its Gold grade certification.

Samsung Semiconductor Zero Waste to Landfill Validations in 2023

Gold (95~99% waste diversion)

Platinum (100% waste diversion)

Infographic showing the locations of Korea, China and the United States with icons on a world map.

Platinum

Hwaseong

Giheung

Pyeongtaek

Onyang

Cheonan

Platinum

Xi’an

Suzhou

Gold

Austin

The difference between
gold and platinum
is just 5%.
And having obtained
gold
designations,
Samsung Semiconductor continued to strive
toward platinum status.
But it seemed almost
impossible to divert the
last 5% of the waste that
was being sent to landfills.

Find out how
Samsung Semiconductor overcame the final
hurdle.

Working Together Today
Close-up of semiconductor. Close-up of plant sprouting out of the soil.
Towards Creating Semiconductors for a Circular Economy

Working
Close-up of semiconductor.
Together Today
Towards Creating
Close-up of plant sprouting out of the soil.
Semiconductors for a Circular Economy

Acquired UL Platinum
for all plants in South Korea (Hwaseong, Giheung, Pyeongtaek, Onyang, Cheonan)
and in China (Xi’an and Suzhou)

And we will continue until all
our sites obtain the platinum level for Zero Waste to Landfill
by 2025.

Sky view of cloverleaf interchange with trees between the interchange and the highway.

For us, technology and eco-consciousness
are
one and the same.

Since 2018, we have had a goal of becoming zero waste, studying the recycling of different kinds of waste and investing heavily in the necessary facilities.

We also provide our partners with financial support in building extended facilities, and we conduct research to improve the efficiency of dehydration pumps and filters. And at Samsung, we all worked together to separate recyclables and minimize our use of disposable products, leading to a reduction in incinerated waste by roughly 285 tons per year.

We also received the honor of a Presidential Citation for Leading Companies in Resource Recirculation in 2019. But beyond Zero Waste to Landfill validations and Presidential Citations, our true honor is knowing that we’re creating a sustainable future.

Creating value
from waste.

At Samsung
Semiconductor,

we
continue our march
toward a circular economy
where we reuse and recycle
all the

waste we generate.

Explore more about Sustainability

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