China Market Intelligence
Electronic Waste Rules
China recently approved long-awaited
electronic-waste rules, but a product catalogue is pending
T
he State Council in early
March released long-awaited
rules governing the recycling
and disposal of waste electrical and
electronic equipment (WEEE). The
new regulations, which take effect
January 1, 2011, contain several new
requirements for producers and
importers, including new label and
management requirements for
producers. They also require producers
to contribute to a special fund designed
to offset costs of WEEE disposal and
recycling. Though the State Council approved the rules in
August 2008, Premier Wen Jiabao did not sign them until
February 25, 2009. The long delay was likely due to the
economic downturn and concern about the additional
requirements that these new regulations place on WEEE
manufacturers.
These new rules are not China’s first to address the disposal
and environmental pollution of electronic products. In
September 2007, the PRC State Environmental Protection
Administration, precursor to the Ministry of Environmental
Protection (MEP), released measures designed to prevent and
control environmental pollution caused by the use and
disposal of electronic waste. Regulations governing WEEE
show China’s efforts to establish a framework for controlling
the use and disposal of products to prevent environmental
pollution, a framework first launched with the PRC
Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused
by Electronic Information Products in 2007. China’s
developing regime for these products has many parallels with
the European Union’s rules for handling WEEE and
restrictions on hazardous substances.
Full details of China’s WEEE regime will not be finalized,
however, until the release of the WEEE catalogue. Companies
that produce, import, or use WEEE products should monitor
the lead agencies involved for indications of the drafting or
release of product catalogues.
WEEE requirements
China’s 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 specify
noncompliance penalties for WEEE.
■ PRC agency responsibilities Three PRC ministries will
take primary responsibility for drafting and supervising the
12 May-June 2009 chinabusinessreview.com
implementation of WEEE-related
regulations: the National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC),
MEP, and Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology (MIIT). The
Ministry of Commerce will manage
other WEEE recycling work. Several
other PRC agencies, such as the
General Administration of Customs
and the Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection, and
Quarantine, will handle work related
to their areas of jurisdiction.
■ WEEE catalogue WEEE requirements will apply only
to products listed in a catalogue, which the State Council,
MEP, and MIIT will jointly release. The details and timing
of the catalogue’s release, and whether it will be open for
comment, remain unclear.
■ WEEE fund The regulations authorize the establishment
of a fund that subsidizes WEEE recycling costs with
contributions from producers and recipients of imported
goods. The Ministry of Finance, along with NDRC, MEP,
and MIIT, will draft concrete measures for the levy, use, and
management of this fund.
■ Labeling and reporting Producers and importers of
WEEE products must label products with information about
harmful materials content and suggested recycling or disposal
means. Companies involved in WEEE disposal are required
to report regularly to municipal-level environmental
protection agencies and must maintain data and reports for at
least three years.
■ Qualification for enterprises that handle WEEE Only
enterprises that receive municipal-level environmental
protection agency approval—based on prerequisites and
timelines outlined in the new rules—will be able to carry
out WEEE disposal and recycling.
■ 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 WEEE
disposal without proper qualifications (fines of between
¥50,000 and ¥500,000 [$73,154] and possible confiscation
of proceeds from WEEE disposal), and failing to report to
local authorities (fines of up to ¥50,000).
This article is adapted from a report that first appeared in China Market
Intelligence, the US-China Business Council’s (USCBC) members-only
newsletter. To find out more about USCBC member company benefits, see
www.uschina.org/benefits.html.