The semiconductor industry has expanded rapidly in recent years and is projected to grow exponentially in the coming decades. Sales in 2024 reached $627 billion and are expected to hit $697 billion in 2025, $1 trillion by 2030 and $2 trillion by 2040. Semiconductors have become critical to modern life and are used in a wide variety of devices, from computers and cellphones, to cars, TVs, medical equipment, household appliances, AI systems and much more. 

This explosive growth means that sustainability in the semiconductor industry has become more necessary than ever before. If this revolutionary technology is going to continue to evolve and develop, then it has to be in a way that works with the environment and not against it. 

The importance of sustainability for semiconductors 

Semiconductor manufacturing has a significant impact on the environment. A standard large chip fabrication facility consumes over 100,000 megawatts of energy, generates more than 5,000 tons of waste and uses about 1,589,160 cubic feet of water—every single day. Taken as a whole, the industry produced nearly 190 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024.

As semiconductor production expands more and more, finding sustainable solutions is essential to comply with environmental regulations, meet customer and client pressure for “greener” products and avoid resource depletion. Creating ways to reduce energy consumption, recycle and reuse waste and minimize the carbon footprint will be extremely important to the long term success of the industry.

Where are the areas of opportunity? 

There are a number of areas that the semiconductor industry can focus on to make large gains in terms of resource preservation and overall environmental sustainability. Here are the primary opportunities for companies in this sector:

• Minimizing hazardous waste generation 
• Lowering chemical consumption in manufacturing processes
• Reducing packaging waste 
• Recycling rare and precious metals 
• Managing electronic waste responsibly 
• Implementing effective chemical disposal methods
• Aiming for zero waste to landfill 
• Developing circular economy approaches for waste materials 
• Increasing water recycling and reuse rates 
• Achieving net-zero emissions through comprehensive sustainability programs

Although it may feel daunting when you think about handling this entire list at once, making progress in just several of these areas at a time can significantly improve your carbon footprint and help minimize your waste. In the next sections, we’re going to look at several specific methods that semiconductor manufacturers can take advantage of. 

Sustainable solutions for common waste streams 

The semiconductor industry produces a variety of waste types throughout the manufacturing process. The most common streams include solvent waste, piranha etch, calcium fluoride, inorganic metal bearing mixtures, segregated acids, unused virgin chemicals and containerized waste. The key to increasing sustainability is to reuse, reclaim and recycle byproducts, while reducing waste, transportation and disposal costs. Here are effective methods that can be implemented by microelectronics producers: 

• Beneficial reuse: Converts spent chemicals into products for reuse in other manufacturing operations, minimizing overall waste volumes. 
• Reclamation: Used solvents are cleaned to our specifications through distillation and delivered to third parties who use it as a replacement for virgin solvent. 
• Tolling: Cleans solvent to predetermined specifications and returns it to your business for reuse, helping you lower costs. 
• Energy recovery/Fuel blending: Through these processes, we take your waste and gain further value from it through the creation of solvent based fuels. 
• Waste to energy: Incinerating waste and capturing the heat for use in the production of electricity. 
• Wastewater treatment: Separating solvents from water and treating inorganic solutions to recover metals, so they can be reused or discharged, significantly reducing disposal costs.

It’s not just about solvents, acids and hazardous waste. Sustainability also comes down to being environmentally conscious with the simpler parts of the operation. For example, you can reuse plastic pallets or sell them to be used again and recycle any wood pallets or corrugated packaging material so they don’t end up in landfills.

With rising environmental standards, regulations and consumer expectations, finding a partner who can assist you in achieving greater sustainability is critical. Both hazardous and non-hazardous waste management are complex processes, especially if your goal is to move as many of your waste streams as possible towards beneficial reuse and recycling. You want a company who understands your aims and proactively develops solutions to help you meet them. If you’re in the semiconductor industry, here is what you have to look for in a waste provider: 

• Support of your sustainability goals: They should think of waste and byproducts as resources that have additional value instead of waste that can only be sent to a landfill. 
• 24/7 Reliability: Your waste partner needs to develop business continuity plans for all disposal, transportation and labor requirements. 
• Experience with dangerous materials: An effective provider must have a highly trained, safety focused staff with ample past experience and deep knowledge and expertise in the microelectronics industry. 
• Strategies to control costs: They should help you capture cost savings by looking at all the different levels of management, including handling, transportation, end disposal and creating new revenue streams from “waste”. 
• Quality assurance and accountability: A good partner will conduct routine audits and regularly share reports that track your specific KPIs. 

Go “Glocal” – It’s important to work with a provider that gives you the range of capabilities offered by a global company while also providing you with the attention and close support of a smaller, local operation.