Samsung Electronics cuts 6,859 tons of waste by turning semiconductor factory scraps into phone parts

Samsung Electronics is strengthening its circular resource system by converting waste generated during semiconductor production into smartphone components and industrial raw materials. The strategy aims to reduce both resource consumption and waste generation by repurposing discarded materials as new inputs rather than disposing of them.

As of August, the company had obtained a cumulative total of 38 "circular resource certifications," Samsung Electronics said Friday on its newsroom. Last year, the certifications helped cut annual waste by 6,859 tons.

The circular resource certification regime allows waste that poses no harm to the environment or human health and has economic viability to be recognized as a resource, enabling its reuse as raw material free from waste-related regulations.

Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division has been expanding the recycling of waste from semiconductor production since 2019, accumulating 30 circular resource certifications across all its domestic sites as of August.

A prime example is the wafer tray used to transport semiconductor wafers. The company collects trays made of high-grade plastic and processes them into recycled plastic in collaboration with the DX division's Circular Economy Research Institute. The resulting material has been applied to the side keys and volume keys of the Galaxy S25 series — waste from a semiconductor facility repurposed as a smartphone component.

Defective wafers produced during manufacturing are crushed and processed to extract silicon, which is then recycled as a raw material for aluminum alloys used in the aviation and construction industries. Palladium is also recovered from the diamond discs used in wafer polishing and reused as a raw material for printed circuit board manufacturing.

The scope of Samsung's circular resource efforts is expanding beyond waste to include water. Because semiconductor factories consume water on a massive scale, process water reuse has emerged as a key environmental issue as new fab construction accelerates.

According to Samsung Electronics' sustainability report, the DS division reused about 101.1 million tons of water at its domestic sites in 2024 and reduced water consumption by approximately 16.76 million tons through manufacturing process improvements and other measures.

The company has also introduced a system that purifies concentrated water generated during ultrapure water production and recycles it as cooling water. Samsung is additionally pursuing a project to reprocess water discharged from municipal sewage treatment plants for use in semiconductor manufacturing.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae recently called on Samsung Electronics and other chipmakers to step up investment in raising process water reuse rates and reducing wastewater discharge.

Samsung's Device Experience division has conducted a comprehensive review of waste generated at major sites in Suwon, Gumi and Gwangju, identifying 20 categories of materials — including waste paper, steel sheets, washing machine drums and trays — as candidates for circular resource certification. Of these, eight certifications have been obtained across 12 categories, with the remaining categories targeted for certification by June next year.

Waste generated outside manufacturing facilities is also being converted back into product materials. Packaging foam left over after the installation of home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines is collected, sorted and processed into a new mixed-plastic material, which has been applied as interior components in the domestically produced Bespoke AI WindFree Combo Gallery air conditioner and the Infinite AI air purifier.

Waste glass from the manufacturing process is recycled into a composite fiber material used in the outer drum of the Bespoke AI Combo all-in-one washer-dryer, while a material derived from recycled cooking oil has been incorporated into refrigerator storage compartments.

Samsung Electronics said it plans to continue identifying additional recyclable materials and expand its circular resource supply chain by reintroducing materials recovered from waste into its products and manufacturing processes.