Achieves Gold grade with a 96% waste recycling rate
Established a 'Zero Waste' goal in 2017 and has continued to invest since
SK Magic (CEO Yoon Yo-seob) announced that it has been awarded the Gold grade of the 'Zero Waste To Landfill (ZWTL)' certification by UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science.
The 'Zero Waste To Landfill' certification assigns grades based on the rate at which waste generated at a business site is reused as a resource: △Platinum (100%), △Gold (99–95%), and △Silver (94–90%). It is used as an indicator to evaluate a company's resource circulation efforts, and to date more than 30 domestic business sites, including SK Hynix, SK Siltron, and Walkerhill Hotel & Resort, have received the certification.
At the Hwaseong plant, where the company's production facilities are located, more than 1,000 tons of waste were continuously generated each year as the company sustained rapid growth. Accordingly, in 2017 the company established a 'Zero Waste To Landfill' goal, has continuously invested in waste recycling facilities, and regularly conducts employee training.
In addition, SK Magic, which develops and produces water purification filters—the core technology of water purifiers—in-house, indexes and continuously manages the volume and recycling rate of all waste. This ranges from used water purifier filters generated during visiting maintenance services, to various packaging boxes, styrofoam, and other recovered waste generated during product installation, as well as waste from production lines, research centers, and laboratories, and general trash generated in offices.
Furthermore, in 2017 the company developed the 'Super Air Purifier,' which minimizes carbon dioxide emissions, becoming the world's first air purifier to obtain 'Carbon Footprint' certification. Going a step further, last year it unveiled 'Green Collection,' the domestic home appliance industry's first eco-friendly appliance lineup, taking the lead in the spread and adoption of eco-friendly appliances. In recognition of these efforts, last year it achieved the distinction of being named 'Korea's Eco-friendly Management Leader' in the Innovation Best Practice category at the 2021 Korea Management Awards.
Moreover, targeting 2024, the company plans to establish a resource Closed-Loop system with SK Geo Centric that converts the entire quantity of waste plastics generated from waste appliances and various filters within collected home appliances into eco-friendly plastic, thereby faithfully fulfilling its environmental and social responsibilities as a corporate citizen.
Meanwhile, Yoon Hak-jin, head of SK Magic's Hwaseong plant, who attended the certification ceremony that day, said, "As a result of continuing various efforts toward the goal of 'Zero Waste To Landfill,' SK Magic has achieved a 96% waste recycling rate," adding, "Going forward, we will continue to practice ESG management activities that prioritize the environment across all business areas, aiming for the 'Triple Zero'—not only waste but also plastic and carbon."
▲ At the SK Magic Hwaseong plant located in Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, plant manager Yoon Hak-jin (right) receives the 'Zero Waste To Landfill (ZWTL)' certificate from Jeon Hyeong-seok, division head of UL Solutions, and poses for a commemorative photo.