Collection and Management of Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment in Japan

E-Waste is one of the fastest growing streams in the world today, according to the United Nations Centre for Regional Development.

Diana Butron

E-Waste is one of the fastest growing streams in the world today, according to the United Nations Centre for Regional Development. In 2014, 41.8 million tons of Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) was discarded in Japan, less than one-sixth of it was properly recycled.  The same year Japan ranked third place among the top countries generating WEEE (in absolute quantities). In 2018, Asia was considered the largest consumer of Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE). A year later, Japan generated 2,569 kt of e-waste, 20.4 kg per capita.

Most WEEE in Japan is collected and recycled under the Act on Promotion of Recycling of Small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment enforced since April 2013 and the Act of Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances enacted in 1998 and enforced in April 2001. Japan was one of the first countries globally to implement an Extended Producer Responsibility system for e-waste.

The Act of Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances covers four categories of appliances: air conditioners; TV sets: refrigerators and freezers; and electric washing machines and clothes dryers. Under this law, the consumer is responsible for paying the collection, transportation and recycling fee as well as the returning of the appliance to the retailers or put into municipal collection and treatment route. Municipalities are responsible for delivering collected home appliances to manufacturers and designated body, as well as recycling them in some cases. Also, in some cases, municipalities are responsible for collecting appliances, specifically in rural areas.  Retailers are responsible for taking back appliances sold by themselves from businesses and from consumers who have bought a new appliance to replace an old one and are obliged to properly deliver them to licensed recycling plants. Retailers issue home appliance recycling vouchers to manufacturers, designated body and sends a copy to the consumers. Retailers must also display the costs for collection and transportation of the appliance. Manufacturers and importers are responsible for setting up designated collection points and collect and recycle the home appliances they produced or imported from these collection points. The retailers and manufacturers that do not fulfil their obligations, provide false information or charge unlawful fees would get corrective recommendations, orders or penalties.

In 2020, the recycling facilities registered were 49 and the nationwide take-back sites were 380. Under the law in cooperation with recyclers the recycling facilities are built and operated by manufacturers.

The Act on Promotion of Recycling of Small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment aims to promote the recycling of small home appliances to achieve their proper disposal and effective use of resources. The small home appliance are specified into 28 categories. The items include mobile phones, personal computers, digital cameras, video cameras, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners and rice cookers. However, larger items such as electric massagers and treadmills are included. Each municipality selects the items to collect depending on their situations, meaning the items collected varies among municipalities. Upon this law responsibilities differ from the national government, consumers, municipalities, recycling business operators and retailers. The national government is responsible for securing funds and gathering information that support municipalities. Municipalities separate and collect the items and deliver them to authorized recycling businesses. The authorized recycling businesses are responsible to take the appliances from the municipalities. Retailers and municipalities cooperate to ensure that costumers properly separate and discharge the appliances. Costumers are responsible for separately discharge the small appliances.
Every municipality is free to decide on the collection method. There are three different collection methods. One method is the Collection Box, in which there is an installation of collection boxes for specific appliances at public facilities. The second method is the Station Collection, in which a specific section is designated at an existing collection point or station. These first two methods rely on the proper separation and discharge from the consumers. The third method is a Pickup Collection in which the separation is performed by personnel from the municipality at recycling stations or collection points.

The Act on Promotion of Recycling of Small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment differs from the Act of Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances in that it does not oblige the recycling of the products in a physical or financial way, therefore it is not considered to align with an extended producer responsibility system, and it is sometimes described as a program that encourages voluntary participation.

Japan has more than a couple of laws regulating the disposal of WEEE. Other laws and programmes in Japan include the Law for Promotion of Effective Utilization of resources, enforced in 2001 and the "Mobile Recycling Network”. In consequence, various WEEE items fall under the obligations and possibilities of several laws and programmes, creating more possibilities for the consumers to be able to discard them.

The e-waste management system in Japan is considered advanced. They rely on a strong legal framework, an advanced collection system and developed processing infrastructure.

One of the authorized WEEE recycler in Japan is The European Recycling Platform. They state that the ‘small domestic appliances’ is the most complicated WEEE stream, due to the variety of the materials that can be recovered. This WEEE category includes: "appliances for cleaning (e.g. vacuum cleaners, carpet sweepers, etc.), appliances used for sewing, knitting, weaving and other processing for textiles, irons and other appliances for ironing, mangling and other care of clothing, toasters, fryers, grinders, coffee machines and equipment for opening or sealing containers or packages, electric knives, appliances for hair cutting, hair drying, tooth brushing, shaving, massage and other body care appliances, clocks, watches and equipment to measure, indicate or registering time, etc.” The recycling process for this stream starts with manual pretreatment, followed by crushing, picking station, shredding, and finally separation. Initial decontamination removes ink toners, cartridges, batteries and cables. After shredding the plastics and metals are separated. The recovered materials are cables, plastic, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, individual components, fine materials and waste.

 

WasteCulture Research Article - 05.11.2024 

References

United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD). (2018). Background paper: The 3R approach to waste management (8th Regional 3R Forum in Asia). United Nations Centre for Regional Development. https://uncrd.un.org/sites/uncrd.un.org//files/8th-3r_p7-1-background-paper.pdf

United Nations University, International Telecommunication Union, & International Solid Waste Association. (2020). Global e-waste monitor 2020: Quantities, flows, and the circular economy potential. United Nations University, International Telecommunication Union, & International Solid Waste Association. https://ewastemonitor.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GEM_2020_def_july1_low.pdf

Hotta, Yasuhiko, Atsushi Santo and Tomohiro Tasaki (2016), "Recycling of electronic home appliances in Japan”, in OECD, Extended Producer Responsibility: Updated Guidance for Efficient Waste Management, OECD Publishing, Paris.https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264256385-17-en

National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). (2020, May). Towards the realization of a circular economy in Japan. National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). https://www-cycle.nies.go.jp/eng/column/page/202005_01.html

Sugimoto, T. (2020, December). E-waste management and recycling mechanism in Japan. Department of Environment, Malaysia. https://ewaste.doe.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2.-E-waste-Management-and-Recycling-Mechanism-in-Japan-Sugimoto-san.pdf

European Recycling Platform (ERP). (n.d.). What we cover: WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). European Recycling Platform. https://erp-recycling.org/en-jp/what-we-cover/streams/weee/