Japan Introduces Electronic Product Recycling System

The precious metals in electronic products have high value as renewable resources, and their recycling and reuse are conducive to environmental protection. On the 22nd, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan submitted a proposal to the subcommittee of the Central Environmental Review Council to recommend the introduction of new systems for recycling electronic products such as old mobile phones and digital cameras, and extract precious metals and rare metals from them.

The main contents of the program include not collecting fees for consumers, etc. It also lists the names of 45 varieties with high metal content and cost-effective recycling. The Ministry of the Environment plans to submit a bill introducing a new system in the next year’s regular parliament.

The plan lists some of the more cost-effective recycling products such as car navigation devices and table games. If a kilogram of mobile phones contains approximately 1,700 yen worth of precious metals, etc., assuming that all old mobile phones are recycled, the estimated value will reach 9.6 billion yen per year. At present, the extraction targets include precious metals such as gold and silver and some rare metals that have been established through efficient recovery technologies. The subcommittee will continue to discuss specific methods such as recycling methods and object varieties.