Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and. came. into. effect. on. March. 1,. 2007.. It. was. developed. by. several. gov-
ernmental. bodies. and. aims. to. reduce. the. hazardous. and. toxic. substances.
and. materials. contained. in. electronic. appliances. and. to. minimize. pollu-
tion. caused. by. the. production,. recycling,. and. disposal. of. these. products.
(Yang.2008)..The.following.important.points.are.covered:.(1).restricting.six.
hazardous.and.toxic.substances.(the.same.ones.stipulated.in.the.EU.RoHS.
Directive);. (2). products. and. their. packaging. should. be. nontoxic,. nonhaz-
ardous,.degradable,.and.recyclable;.(3).information.on.the.components.and.
hazardous.substances.contained.in.the.products.and.their.safe.use.and.recy-
cling. should. be. speciied. by. the. producers.. The. original. “Chinese. RoHS”.
only. covers. electronic. information. products. (e.g.,. computers,. televisions,.
radios);. however,. in. 2011,. a. revised. RoHS. has. been. proposed,. which. will.
cover.electrical.products.such.as.air.conditioners.and.refrigerators.
In.February.2008,.the.Administrative.Measures.on.Prevention.and.Control.
of. E-waste. Pollution. (SEPA. Order. No.. 40). came. into. effect. with. regard. to.
the.prevention.and.control.of.pollution.arising.from.the.generation,.storage,.
disassembly,.utilizing,.recycling,.and.disposal.of.electronic.waste.(Ministry.
of. Environmental. Protection,. www.mep.gov.cn).. It. stipulates. that. an. envi-
ronmental.impact.assessment.or.an.EIA.screening.process.be.undertaken.for.
newly. built,. rebuilt,. or. expended. projects. for. dismantling,. utilization,. and.
disposal. of. e-waste.. The. regulation. speciies. the. responsibilities. of. stake-
holders;. for. example,. manufacturers,. importers,. and. retailers. of. EE. prod-
ucts.should.establish.a.take-back.system.to.collect.waste.EE.products.and.be.
responsible.for.treating.and.disposal.of.e-waste.
Although. China. has. several. comprehensive. regulations. and. policies.
governing. e-waste,. how. effective. these. will. be. depends. on. the. monitor-
ing.and.strict.enforcement.of.their. implementation..Currently,.an.effective.
framework. for. implementation. and. systematic. monitoring. is. lacking,. and.
the. Chinese. WEEE. regulations. still. contain. several. loopholes. (Chung. and.
Zhang.2011)..The.regulatory.development.for.the.management.of.e-waste.is.
carried. out. by. individual. departments. within. their. own. mandates,. which.
in.turn.creates.gaps.and.conlicts.in.existing.legislations.(Yang.2008)..Thus,.
there.needs.to.be.better.communication,.coordination,.and.support.between.
the.departments.or.ministries..In.spite.of.these.shortcomings,.the.tightening.
up.of.the.illegal.transport.of.e-waste.into.China.by.the.Chinese.government.
has.resulted.in.large.amounts.of.e-waste.stored.in.Hong.Kong—the.doorstep.
of.China.
Defining E-Waste
The.deinition.of.e-waste.needs.to.be.clearly.deined.because.it.is.currently.
loosely.used.as.a.catch-all.term.for.end-of-life.EEE,.which.are.disposed,.sold,.
or.donated.by.the.original.owners.or.are.destined.for.reuse,.resale,.recycling,.
or.disposal..In.some.countries,.EEE.that.are.destined.for.direct.reuse.are.not.
considered.e-waste..Should.a.computer.that.is.to.be.reused.by.a.secondary.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search