Management of scrap computer recycling in Taiwan

It is estimated that approximately 300,000 scrap personal computers are gen erated each year in Taiwan [S.-L. Chang, A Study on the Scrap Computer Trea tment Cost, Environment Protection Administration of Taiwan, December 1998 (in Chinese)]. The disposal of such a huge number of scrap computers presen ts a difficult task for the island due to the scarcity of landfills and inc ineration facilities available locally. Also, the hazardous materials conta ined (i.e., phosphor coatings of cathode ray tubes (CRTs), batteries, polyc hlorinated biphenyl capacitors, mercury-containing parts, liquid crystal di splay, high-lead content CRT funnel glass, and plastic containing flame-ret ardant bromine, etc.) in the scrap computers may seriously pollute the envi ronment if they are not properly disposed of. Therefore, the EPA of Taiwan declared scrap personal computers the producer's recycling responsibility a s of July 1997. Under this decree, the manufacturers, importers and sellers of personal computers have to properly recover and recycle the scrapped co mputers which they originally sell. On June 1, 1998, a producer responsibil ity recycling program for scrap computers was officially implemented in Tai wan. Under this program, consumers can bring their unwanted personal comput ers to the designated collection points and receive reward money. Currently , only six computer items are mandated to be recycled in this recycling pro gram. They are notebooks, monitors, hard disks, power supplies, printed cir cuit boards and main frame shells. This article outlines the current scrap computer recycling system in Taiwan. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rig hts reserved.