Regulating electrical and electronic wastes in China

Review of European Community and International Environmental Law

Volumn 17, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 335-344

  Yang, Wanhua ^a  

^a Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok   (Thailand)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT; POLICY APPROACH; POLICY IMPLEMENTATION; POLLUTION POLICY; REGULATORY FRAMEWORK; STAKEHOLDER; WASTE DISPOSAL; WASTE MANAGEMENT;

ASIA; CHINA; EURASIA; FAR EAST;

EID: 58149092554     PISSN: 09628797     EISSN: 14679388     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9388.2008.00608.x     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. M. Eugster et al., Sustainable Electronics and Electrical Equipment for China and the World: A Commodity Chain Sustainability Analysis of Key Chinese EEE Product Chains, Draft Working Paper (IISD, November 2007), at 4.
2. Ibid., at 8.
3. 'WEEE', or e-waste, refers to used and discarded household appliances (including refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners), television sets, printers and various electronic products and devices (such as computers, mobile phones and other small electronic devices), and their parts.
4. These include CRT (cathode ray tube) television sets, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, personal computers and mobile phones. See M. Eugster et al., n. 1 above, at 21.
5. Ibid., at 21.
6. Ibid., at 21.
7. C. Hicks et al., 'The Recycling and Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Waste in China - Legislative and Market Responses', 25 Environmental Impact Review (2005), 459, at 460.
8. E-waste is one of the substances controlled by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel, 22 March 1989), Annex I, Annex VIII, List A, Annex IX, List B. China, as a party to the Convention, is required to take special measures on the control of transboundary movements and disposal. Accordingly, China issued a ban on e-waste in 1994 (see Provisional Regulations on Strict Control of Waste Imports from EC (1994)).
9. The Basel Convention Regional Centre for the Asia Pacific estimates that approximately 33 million tones of illegal e-waste were imported into Asia, with a majority of that finding its way into China; while Tsinghua University estimates that total illegal imports of e-waste to be around 1.5 million tones per annum. See M. Eugster et al., n. 1 above, at 22 and 73.
10. Z. Youliang, Discussion on WEEE Recycling Legislation in China (Sino-Swiss E-Waste Initiative, 9 July 2007), available at .
11. This practice is fundamentally different from Europe and North America, where consumers may have to pay for their used appliances and electronic devices to be collected and properly disposed of.
12. Z. Bin, Environmental Management of E-Waste [in China] (Sino-Swiss E-Waste Initiative, 9 July 2007), available at .
13. K. Kummer Peiry, WEEE Legislation in China and Selected European Countries (Sino-Swiss E-Waste Initiative, 9 July 2007), available at .
14. See M. Eugster et al., n. 1 above., at 19.
15. Ibid., at 8.
16. Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste from electrical and electronic equipment, [2003] OJ L37/24; and Directive of 2003/108/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 December 2003 amending Directive 2002/96/EC on WEEE, [2003] OJ L145/106.
17. Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction on the use of certain hazardous substance in electric and electronic equipment, [2003] OJ L37/19.
18. Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (Presidential Order No 22) was enacted by the National People's Congress on 22 December 1989.
19. Article 24 of the Environmental Protection Law, ibid., requires that any organizations that may cause environmental pollution and other public nuisances should take effective measures to prevent pollution during their manufacturing and other operational processes, including waste water, air pollutants, solid wastes, particulars, noise, radioactive and other forms of wastes.
20. Article 28 of the Environmental Protection Law, ibid., requires that enterprises and other organizations that discharge pollutants exceeding national and local environmental ambient standards pay discharge fees according to national regulations, and be responsible for clean up.
21. Cleaner Production Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China (Presidential Order No 72), adopted by the National People's Congress on 29 June 2002. Article 27 requires that if a product and its package are listed in the compulsory recycling and reusing inventory, producers or retailers shall ensure the collection and recycling of the product and its packaging after consumption.
22. Article 20 of the Cleaner Production Promotion Law, ibid., encourages producers to consider environmental impacts of the whole life cycle (production, consumption, disposal and reuse/recovery) in designing a product and its packages, and to give priority to selecting toxic-free, non-hazardous, easily biodegradable and easily recycled options.
23. Ibid., Article 12.
24. Ibid., Article 13.
25. Ibid., Article 19.
26. The Solid Waste Pollution Control Law of the People's Republic of China (Presidential Order No 58) adopted by the National People's Congress on 29 December 2004.
27. Ibid., Article 5.
28. It was replaced by the Measures on Environmental Management of Electronic Waste (Decree No 40/2007) adopted by SEPA (MEP) on 7 September 2007. A cite for the 2003 Circular on Strengthening Environmental Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulation is no longer available.
29. Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (MII Decree No 39/2006) adopted by the MII (now MIIT), NDRC, MOFCOM, GACC, GAIC, AQSIQ and SEPA (now MEP) on 28 February 2006.
30. Ibid., Articles 1, 2 and 3.
31. Ibid., Article 3(3)-(5).
32. Ibid., Article 9.
33. Ibid., Articles 17 and 18 state that that MII shall, in consultation with SEPA and SAQSIQ, formulate industrial and national standards for EEE; and MII shall, in conjunction with NDRC, MOFCOM, GAC, GAIC, SAQSIQ and SEPA, formulate and revise consequently the Priority Electronic Information Product Catalogue for control of pollution caused by electronic information products.
34. See Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products, n. 29 above, Article 11.
35. Ibid., Article 13.
36. The China Compulsory Certification (CCC) is a compulsory inspection system in China which integrates the country's previous two inspection systems (one to check the quality of products, and the other for the contents of products for import and export) into a single procedure as part of its commitment for entry into the World Trade Organization. After an initial 12-month transition period (1 May 2002-30 April 2003), the new system took effect on 1 May 2003. Products without the CCC label will not be allowed to be sold in the market; see China's Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) (CNCA, undated), available at .
37. See Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products, n. 29 above, Article 19.
38. Ibid., Article 4.
39. Ibid., Article 7.
40. Ibid., Article 4.
41. Ibid., Article 17.
42. Ibid., Articles 4 and 7.
43. Ibid., Articles 22, 23 and 24.
44. Standard of the Electronics Industry of the People's Republic of China (SJ/T 11363, 2006).
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid.
47. The Technical Policy was adopted by SEPA (MEP) on 14 August 2006.
48. See Measures on Environmental Management of Electronic Waste, n. 28 above.
49. Ibid., Article 2.
50. Ibid., Article 3.
51. Ibid., Articles 5 and 6.
52. Ibid., Articles 7 and 12.
53. Ibid., Article 11.
54. Ibid., Article 13.
55. See, e.g., the restriction and phase-out of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers under the Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products, n. 29 above.
56. See the Measures on Environmental Management of Electronic Waste, n. 28 above, Article 14, para. 2.
57. Ibid., Article 14, para. 3.
58. Ibid., Article 15.
59. Ibid., Chapter IV.
60. 'China to adopt the Management Rule on Recycling and Disposal of Waste Household Electrical Appliances', Yangchen Evening News (4 January 2008).
61. The Management Rule on Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical Household Appliances (NDRC Draft for Review in Chinese), Articles 1 and 2, available at .
62. Ibid., Article 4.
63. Ibid., Article 5.
64. Ibid., Article 7.
65. Ibid., Article 9.
66. Ibid., Article 10.
67. Ibid., Article 11.
68. Ibid., Article 12.
69. Ibid., Article 13.
70. Ibid., Article 14.
71. Ibid., Article 18.
72. Ibid., Article 20.
73. The four agencies are the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the General Administration of China Customs (GACC), and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of (AQSIQ).
74. Announcement No 11/2008 of SEPA, MOFCOM, NDRC, GACC and AQSIQ (29 January 2008), available at .
75. See Basel Convention, n. 8 above, Annex I, Annex VIII, List A, Annex IX, List B.
76. See n. 74 above.
77. This is according to the Catalogue of Restricted Import Solid Wastes that can be Used as Raw Materials, Announcement No 11/2008 of SEPA, MOFCOM, NDRC, GACC and AQSIQ; see n. 74 above.
78. This is according to the Catalogue of Automatic Licensing Import Solid Wastes that can be Used as Raw Materials, Announcement No 11/2008 of SEPA, MOFCOM, NDRC, GACC and AQSIQ; see ibid.
79. A third party certification of eco-labeling is directed by a Certification Committee for Environmental Label (CCEL) under the auspices of the SAQSIQ and MEP.
80. L. Ling, 'Chinese Government to Start 'Buying Green"' (Worldwatch Institute, 30 November 2006), available at .
81. Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China (Presidential Order No 22), adopted by National People's Congress on 12 May 1994.
82. Ibid., Article 16.
83. See n. 26 above.
84. Ibid., Articles 24 and 25.
85. The Provisional Regulations on Environmental Management of Waste Imports (SEPA Decree 204/1996) adopted by SEPA, MOFCOM, GACC and AQSIQ on 1 March 1996, available at .
86. The National Catalogue of Hazardous Waste (SEPA Decree 89/1998) adopted by former SEPA, the Economic and Trade Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation on 4 January 1998.
87. See ibid., Article 8.
88. Ibid., Article 9.
89. Supplementary Measures to the Provisional Regulations on Environment of Waste Imports (SEPA Decree 629/1996) adopted by SEPA, MOFCOM, GACC and AQSIQ on 26 July 1996, available at .
90. Ibid., Article 3.
91. Catalogues on Restricted Import of Wastes that Can be Used as Raw Materials (the Announcement No 10/2003 of MOFCOM, GACC, AQSIQ and SEPA and the Announcements of No 66/2004; and the Announcement of No 73/2004 of MOFCOM, GACC and SEPA).
92. The Catalogues on Banned Import of Wastes (the Announcement No 5/2005 of SEPA, GACC and AQSIQ, the Announcements of MOFCOM, GACC and SEPA, No 36/ 2001, No 41/2002 and No 25/2002).
93. The Fifth Batch of the Catalogue on Banned Imports of Wastes (the Announcements of MOFCOM, GACC and SEPA No 25/2002).
94. The government purchased goods worth a total of CNY292.76 billion (US$36.6 billion) in 2005 (an increase of 37% from 2004), accounting for nearly 2% of gross domestic product that year.
95. The Implementation of Government Procurement of Energy Efficiency Products (Treasury No 185), adopted by the Ministry of Finance and NDRC on 17 December 2004.
96. The Circular on Government Procurement of Environmentally-Labelled Products and its Annex 'Green Products Catalogue of Environmentally-Labelled Products' (Treasury No 90), adopted by the Ministry of Finance and former SEPA in 2006.
97. Ibid., para. 9.
98. See M. Eugster et al., n. 1 above, at 60.
99. See Cleaner Production Promotion Law, n. 21 above, Article 20.
100. See the Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products, n. 29 above, Article 9.
101. See Technical Policy, n. 47 above, Chapter 2.
102. See Administrative Measures on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products, n. 29 above.
103. See Management Rule on Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical Household Appliances, n. 61 above.
104. J. Wang, 'Imported Pollution Adds to China's Environmental Woes', China Watch (27 March 2007), available at .
105. J. Li, Electronic Waste Management System in China, presented at the 2004 International Conference on Electronic Waste and Extended Producers Responsibility in China (Beijing, 21-22 April 2004).
106. Ibid., at 52.