8/14/2019 China Market Intelligence: Electronic Waste Rules, China Business Review, May-June 2009

1/1

The State Council in earlyMarch released long-awaitedrules governing the recycling

and disposal of waste electrical andelectronic equipment (WEEE). Thenew regulations, which take effectJanuary 1, 2011, contain several newrequirements for producers andimporters, including new label andmanagement requirements forproducers. They also require producers

to contribute to a special fund designedto offset costs of WEEE disposal andrecycling. Though the State Council approved the rules inAugust 2008, Premier Wen Jiabao did not sign them untilFebruary 25, 2009. The long delay was likely due to theeconomic downturn and concern about the additionalrequirements that these new regulations place on WEEEmanufacturers.

These new rules are not Chinas first to address the disposaland environmental pollution of electronic products. InSeptember 2007, the PRC State Environmental ProtectionAdministration, precursor to the Ministry of EnvironmentalProtection (MEP), released measures designed to prevent and

control environmental pollution caused by the use anddisposal of electronic waste. Regulations governing WEEEshow Chinas efforts to establish a framework for controllingthe use and disposal of products to prevent environmentalpollution, a framework first launched with the PRCAdministrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Causedby Electronic Information Products in 2007. Chinasdeveloping regime for these products has many parallels withthe European Unions rules for handling WEEE andrestrictions on hazardous substances.

Full details of Chinas WEEE regime will not be finalized,however, until the release of the WEEE catalogue. Companiesthat produce, import, or use WEEE products should monitor

the lead agencies involved for indications of the drafting orrelease of product catalogues.

WEEE requirementsChinas new rules further delineate agency responsibilities

and coordination, outline recycling and disposal require-ments, add new labeling requirements, create a company-contributed disposal and recycling subsidy fund, and specifynoncompliance penalties for WEEE.s PRC agency responsibilities Three PRC ministries willtake primary responsibility for drafting and supervising the

implementation of WEEE-relatedregulations: the National Developmentand Reform Commission (NDRC),MEP, and Ministry of Industry andInformation Technology (MIIT). TheMinistry of Commerce will manageother WEEE recycling work. Severalother PRC agencies, such as theGeneral Administration of Customsand the Administration of QualitySupervision, Inspection, and

Quarantine, will handle work relatedto their areas of jurisdiction.sWEEE catalogue WEEE requirements will apply onlyto products listed in a catalogue, which the State Council,MEP, and MIIT will jointly release. The details and timingof the catalogues release, and whether it will be open forcomment, remain unclear.sWEEE fund The regulations authorize the establishmentof a fund that subsidizes WEEE recycling costs withcontributions from producers and recipients of importedgoods. The Ministry of Finance, along with NDRC, MEP,and MIIT, will draft concrete measures for the levy, use, andmanagement of this fund.

s Labeling and reporting Producers and importers ofWEEE products must label products with information aboutharmful materials content and suggested recycling or disposalmeans. Companies involved in WEEE disposal are requiredto report regularly to municipal-level environmentalprotection agencies and must maintain data and reports for atleast three years.s Qualification for enterprises that handle WEEE Onlyenterprises that receive municipal-level environmentalprotection agency approvalbased on prerequisites andtimelines outlined in the new ruleswill be able to carryout WEEE disposal and recycling.s Penalties The regulations establish penalties for illegal

WEEE-related activities, including failing to label products(fines of up to 50,000 [$7,315]), carrying out WEEEdisposal without proper qualifications (fines of between50,000 and 500,000 [$73,154] and possible confiscationof proceeds from WEEE disposal), and failing to report tolocal authorities (fines of up to 50,000).

This article is adapted from a report that first appeared inChina MarketIntelligence, the US-China Business Councils (USCBC) members-onlynewsletter. To find out more about USCBC member company benefits, seewww.uschina.org/benefits.html.

China Market Intelligence

12 May-June 2009 chinabusinessreview.com

Electronic Waste RulesChina recently approved long-awaited

electronic-waste rules, but a product catalogue is pending