On Dec 19th, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) jointly issued E-Waste Dismantling and Production Management Guidelines (2015 version) to further standardize the waste disposal activities of companies involved in electrical or electronic product disposal.
The Guidelines applies to e-waste handlers who are licensed and in the list of companies approved for E-Waste disposal subsidies. The list now contains 106 companies and is managed by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), MEP and MIIT. The subsidies come from a national fund established by the State Council. According to the Regulation on the Administration of the Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products (State Council Decree 551), e-product manufacturers, consignees of imported e-products or their representative agents are obligated to contribute to this fund.
Since the enactment of Decree 551 and other related regulations and policies, China’s management of e-wastes has improved significantly with the total permitted processing capacity reaching 127 million pieces per year. However, the industry is still faced with some problems including lack of technical guidance, unstandardized operating procedures, etc. resulting in adverse effects to the environment and funding security.
With a view to solving these problems the new guidelines instruct e-waste handlers on optimization of their data management system, video monitoring, processing facilities and equipment, dismantling procedures and waste recovery, recycling and disposal. The guidelines also serve as a reference for regulators to review and approve funding applications.
