Itochu and Daikin enter alliance for horizontal recycling of air conditioners

Itochu and Daikin have formed a comprehensive alliance in Japan to advance horizontal recycling of air conditioners under the government’s resource-circulation framework (Type 1). The partnership aims to build a closed-loop system that recovers plastics and metals from end-of-life units for reuse in new products, improving collection and sorting, material traceability and quality, and reducing CO2 emissions and virgin material use across the AC lifecycle.

What do you see as the biggest hurdle to scaling closed-loop recycling of HVAC equipment: nationwide collection logistics, achieving high material purity, or redesigning products for easier disassembly?