Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., a key production and sales location for passenger tires in China, had achieved "complete zero emissions"*1 - that is, no waste is subject to direct landfill disposal. Yokohama Rubber conducted on-site investigations of all contractors commissioned to dispose of waste from the plant, confirming the first "complete zero emissions" result at an overseas location.

Since Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., began efforts in November 2007 toward "zero emissions"*2 - landfill disposal less than 1% of total waste - the company has steadily raised the standards for waste management and has now achieved "complete zero emissions," a higher standard than "zero emissions." Specific efforts included continuing education on waste separation and thorough implementation, proper waste storage by building a dump site with partitions according to waste type, improvements in management of generation/disposal of waste through management of daily ledgers and understanding of disposal processes, including making disposal flow charts for all contractors for waste disposal and the carrying out of on-site inspections. Hereafter, the plant staff will regularly visit disposal contractors to check their practices, and will carry out research on new methods of waste recycling to achieve "100% waste recycling."*3

Under a basic policy of asserting world-class strengths in technologies for protecting the environment, as stated in its "Medium-Range Management Plan: Grand Design 100 (GD100)," the Yokohama Rubber Group has endorsed the concept of "top-level environmental friendliness." A priority issue in that declaration is the reduction of waste emissions at domestic and overseas production sites. Domestically, since March 2006, "complete zero emissions" have been maintained at all eight production sites. In January 2009, at five locations - the Hiratsuka Factory, and Mie, Ibaraki, Hiratsuka-East and Nagano Plants - 100% recycling of industrial waste was achieved. All overseas production sites aim at achieving "zero emissions" by FY2011. In addition to Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a key production location for passenger, truck and bus tires in Thailand, has achieved "zero emissions."

*1: No waste is subject to direct landfill disposal.
*2: Less than 1% of the total waste volume is subject to direct landfill disposal.
*3: No waste generated in the course of business activities is subject to final disposal
(= landfill disposal + incineration without effective utilization).