Nonindustrial waste is defined as the byproduct of daily home and office life. In general, it includes anything that can be sent to a landfill or recycled, such as used office supplies and packaging, organic waste, used manufacturing supplies and equipment, and certain electronic waste. Because it covers a variety of materials, each nonindustrial waste stream may be managed and in some cases regulated differently.
Office waste
TI recycles office refuse through a variety of means. Workplaces and conference rooms have recycling bins for office paper, corrugated boxes, pamphlets, folders and aluminum cans. Recyclables are picked up from office as well as factory areas; transported to our building docks; weighed, sorted and bundled; and sent to recycling centers.
Organic waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the U.S. spends $1 billion to dispose of food waste annually. With Americans throwing away an estimated 96 billion pounds of food each year, food scraps make up the third largest waste stream after paper and yard waste.
At TI, Malaysia was the first of our global operations to use a composting system that continuously aerates organic material from the cafeteria and breaks down waste into compost and fertilizer. Encouraged by this success, TI has since instituted cafeteria waste programs at several Texas sites.
Where possible, TI tries to:
Eliminate the use of foam and plastic.
Use fully compostable containers and utensils.
Reduce the amount of to-go containers by offering dine-in specials.
Require that diners separate and recycle waste.
Recycle napkin and paper towel waste from cafeterias and restrooms.
Reduce or eliminate individual food and tray wrappers.
Procure more organic or locally grown food.
In 2010, TI began collecting food waste and used paper towels at one of our largest Texas campuses.
Used manufacturing supplies
TI recycles waste from our manufacturing processes as well, including employee personal protective equipment and other items. For example:
Booties and hairnets worn each day are collected and shipped to a facility that recycles them to make more nylon and plastics.
Wafer carriers are cleaned and reused when possible. Otherwise, they are ground up and put back into use by the plastics industry.
Empty chemical containers are cleaned, shredded, baled and consolidated for shipment; we sell the material back to the plastics industry for reuse.
Wafer fab shoes in good condition are donated to local nonprofit organizations.
Manufacturing equipment is reused in different facilities or sold, when feasible.
TI has a comprehensive program for disposing equipment used in our own manufacturing processes. Our objective, whenever possible, is to prolong the life of the equipment and keep it in active commerce, either by using it elsewhere within our own operations or by selling it for continued use. If neither option is practical, then we decommission it, clean it, and sell the equipment for scrap, ensuring that it will be reused in an environmentally responsible way.
Scrap silicon wafers
TI uses silicon wafers as the foundation for the development of our semiconductor products. Many silicon wafers are reused in testing processes, but eventually they reach the end of their useful life or break. Due to the increasing costs of polysilicon, its disposal and potential for resale in other markets, TI works to keep scrap silicon wafers out of the waste stream.
We recycle silicon scrap by selling it to polysilicon recyclers and U.S. and Korean solar cell manufacturers. Solar panels can supply homes with year-round electricity, while keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
After storing scrap silicon for the past 24 months due a drop in market price, we positioned our company to take advantage of this resell market when demand increased in 2010. TI partnered with a company that was able to remove the intellectual property and any impurities in our scrap wafers so that we could more easily comply with import and export regulations. As a result, we sold the scrap silicon to external customers, recycling 11.5 tons of silicon.
E-waste
We encourage employees to recycle old cell phones and printer-ink cartridges that have reached the end of their useful lives – whether from work or home – through local or regional vendors. TI also provides information to employees on how to recycle or properly dispose of home computer monitors, televisions, phones and other electronic equipment. We direct them to local government programs, the Environmental Protection Agency's Plug-In to eCycling program or take-back programs offered by manufacturers.
