International. LG Electronics reported that it has set a goal of using nearly 600,000 metric tons of recycled plastic by 2030 in a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain.
The goal is part of LG's broader initiative to create an e-waste recovery ecosystem and increase the use of post-consumer recycled materials in its consumer electronics and home appliances.
In 2020, LG used around 20,000 metric tons of recycled plastic in its products, which it plans to increase more than tenfold by 2025. While recycled plastic is currently used inside LG TVs, monitors, speakers, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, the brand will expand the use of recycled plastic to the outside of its products as well.
In addition to using more recycled plastic, LG is also reducing the use of virgin plastic in all its operations. For example, this year, 18 models of OLED TVs will be produced using less virgin plastic, up from 14 models in 2020, which will reduce up to 10,000 metric tons of plastic.
LG is also increasing its e-waste recovery target amount from its 4.5 million metric tons in 2006 to more than 8 million metric tons by 2030; LG is implementing initiatives to recover and recycle e-waste in 52 countries. In South Korea, the LG Chilseo Recycling Center, which opened in 2001, not only recovers e-waste, but also manufactures new components from recycled plastic and delivers it to LG's nearby appliance plant for use in products such as refrigerators.
LG is focusing its efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the entire product lifecycle, from production and transportation to use and disposal. As a key component of its sustainable management goals, LG's parent company LG Corp. entered into an agreement with Korea's Ministry of Environment and local civic groups in June to implement plastic-free management at its main R&D campus, LG Sciencepark.
