Recycling at ON Semiconductor

Today is America Recycles Day, a national program organized by Keep America Beautiful and the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States, so we are honored to share more about our company’s environmental citizenship and taking action to improve recycling at our sites globally.

ON Semiconductor has had traditional recycling programs for many years.  However, as resources become scarce, available landfill space gets smaller, and disposal costs continue to increase, ON Semiconductor facilities have broadened the scope of their recycling programs.  They are thinking outside the box.

For example, our facility in Bucheon, Korea installed a system that allows them to separate their photoresist, a chemical used in wafer processing, from their other solvent wastes and they are getting paid for their used photoresist. This change resulted in an annual savings of nearly $50,000 USD and redirects 140 tons of photoresist for reuse instead of disposal.

The Green Team at our Gresham, Oregon facility has implemented programs that not only divert materials from the landfill but also help support their local community. Nitrile gloves used throughout the facility are collected and shipped to their glove vendor for recycling.  Since starting this program three years ago, Gresham has diverted over 15 tons of nitrile gloves away from landfills.  These gloves are recycled into raw materials for making other products such as outdoor chairs and benches. ON Semiconductor teamed up with the Gresham-Barlow School District’s Adult Learning Program, and soon beverage containers became a source of revenue for the Adult Learning Program. Over $10,000 in 10-cent beverage containers have been collected.

Our site in Pocatello, Idaho has focused their attention on waste coming from their Café and catering activities. Employees are encouraged to use their personal beverage containers at the soda and coffee dispensers. The coffee station has been improved and more employees are now going to the Café for coffee instead of using coffee pods and pouches. Employees have the option of taking their food on reusable plates with reusable silverware, both of which can be returned later to be washed. At catered meetings, water dispensers are used instead of bottled water. This allows attendees to use their personal beverage containers and reduces the amount of waste generated.

Other recycling activities include comprehensive recycling programs at our location in South Portland, Maine and at our Phoenix, Arizona corporate headquarters.  For the first three quarters of 2019, the South Portland site recycled over 50,000 kilograms (equivalent to 31 mid-size vehicles) of waste materials.  In 2018, our corporate offices recycled approximately 105, 000 kilograms (equivalent to 66 mid-size vehicles), and diverting 43% of their waste away from the landfill.

The company also has a reclaim center where manufacturing sites send their precious metal and non-precious metal wastes for reclaim and resale.  ON Semiconductor recouped more than $29 million USD from this operation in 2018.

Through our ON Semiconductor Environmental Sustainability Program, both our manufacturing, and test and assembly operations, are implementing water reuse and recycling programs.  In 2018, the manufacturing sites accomplished 112% of their water conservation goal, while the assembly and test operations accomplished 106% of their water conservation goal.  The target for each was reduce water consumption by 1% annually. 

ON Semiconductor strives to be a good, corporate citizen and to reduce our environmental impact whenever possible.  Our employees play a key in this endeavor by providing innovative ideas to help us reuse, reduce and recycle. 

Read more about ON Semiconductor’s sustainability programs in our 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.