Japan expands electronics recycling law

Archiv – The government of Japan has decided to add flat television sets -liquid crystal and plasma display televisions- and drying machines to a list of home appliances manufacturers must recycle according to the country’s electrical appliance recycling law.Japan | The government of Japan has decided to add flat television sets -liquid crystal and plasma display televisions- and drying machines to a list of home appliances manufacturers must recycle according to the country’s electrical appliance recycling law.
Under the ordinance to be implemented April 1, 2009, consumers will be required to pay recycling fees when they dispose of the two products. Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and cathode ray-tube television sets are currently on the list. The fees for the new products will be set by the companies that make them, according to Kyodo news agency.
The ordinance sets mandatory minimum recycling rates at 50% for flat TVs and 65% for dryers. A recycling rate is a percentage share of the weight of iron, copper and other valuable materials manufacturers retrieve from used appliances against their total weight.
The ordinance also raised mandatory minimum recycling rates for three of the current four home appliances covered by the law -air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines- by 10-15 percentage points. The rates are set for 60% for air conditioners, 50% for refrigerators, 50% for washing machines and 55% for cathode ray-tube television sets.