An overview study on management and implementation of WEEE in China

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) which contains various valuable and harmful materials is an inevitable waste in modern society. In order to resolve the pollution problems associated with WEEE treatment, a WEEE management system has been established in China. The main role of importers and manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is to pay the treatment fees to facilitate the WEEE recycling in China. The announced treatment and subsidy fee is given by set, not by the weight of WEEE. There is no lesser green treatment fee for the producers which can produce environmentally friendly EEE in China. Also, the recovery of refrigerants from the foaming agent of refrigerators is not required in China. In total, 45 million sets of recycled WEEE were certified in 2020, a year that contains the most updated data. Among them, 48%, 14%, 20%, 10% and 8% are for TV, refrigerator, washing machine, computer and air conditioners, respectively. The spatial analysis indicates that the WEEE recycling activities are mainly concentrated on the mid-east and east regions of China. It also can be concluded that the certified amount of each province has higher positive correlation with provincial population than provincial GDP per capita and green recovery rate. It also clearly notes that the amount of recycled air conditioner is the lowest for each province. Thus, more effort should be conducted to increase the recycling of scrapped air conditioner in China.

Automated summary

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is an inevitable waste in modern society, containing valuable and harmful materials. China has established a WEEE management system to address pollution issues. Importers and manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) pay treatment fees to facilitate recycling. In 2020, 45 million sets of WEEE were certified for recycling, with TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, computers, and air conditioners being the main items. Spatial analysis shows that recycling activities are concentrated in the mid-east and east regions of China.