New recycling rules set for cellphone providers next April - Focus Taiwan
New recycling rules set for cellphone providers next April - Focus Taiwan
New recycling rules set for cellphone providers next April
Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) A set of rules requiring local mobile phone providers to set up recycling facilities and assist users with such practices will be introduced on April 1, 2024, the Ministry of Environment announced last week.
In addition to providing facilities and incentives for recycling, manufacturers and importers must help users delete personal data, the ministry said on Nov. 9.
Manufacturers and importers will also have to set phased targets for circular material use rate (CMU rate), which measures the ratio of recycled, maintained and reused materials to the overall material use.
In this case, the rate is calculated as "circular services" offered by business operators in the current year divided by the average phone sales volume of the previous three years, as stipulated by the new rule under the Resource Recycling Act.
The goal is to raise the phone recycling rate to 15 percent by Jan. 1, 2025 and 30 percent by Jan. 1, 2030, and failure to comply may result in fines between NT$30,000-NT$150,000 (US$920-US$4,600), with daily penalties applicable after a deadline assigned, the ministry said.
According to ministry figures, the most recent three-year moving average recycling rate was 9 percent.
Wang Yeuh-bin (王嶽斌), a deputy director general of the ministry's Resources Circulation Administration, told CNA that the rules seek to provide greater access to facilities to encourage a reluctant public to recycle old phones.
A previous report indicated that the primary reasons for people's unwillingness to recycle their mobile phones were insufficient incentive rewards (34 percent) and difficulties finding recycling points (28 percent), with the desire to wait until the device is no longer functional and the need for data destruction services each making up approximately 10 percent, Wang said.
Currently, phone recycling services are offered by public cleaning teams, telecommunications retailers and convenience stores, Wang said.
Ministry data showed that more than 6 million smartphones are sold in Taiwan annually, but only 12 percent of this figure were recycled last year.
Around 220,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity would be conserved if 10,000 cellphones were recycled, which would translate to a greenhouse gas emission reduction of about 140 metric tons, according to ministry data.
- Business Service sector output accounts for over 60% of 2022 GDP: MOEA 11/13/2023 03:14 PM
- Society Life sentence upheld for man convicted in 2002 kidnapping and murder 11/13/2023 02:19 PM
- Society Man arrested on suspicion of selling fake Coldplay tickets 11/13/2023 02:09 PM
- Business Taiwan shares close up 0.94% 11/13/2023 01:51 PM
- Business Taiwan outlines CPTPP accession plan for 2024 'window of opportunity' 11/13/2023 12:53 PM
More
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”