The health and environmental threats of old fridges and washing machines are set to be tackled by a proposed new regulation on recycling electrical goods.

Nine ministries under the central government are now co-operating to draft a regulation on used electrical goods that currently end up in rubbish dumps or incinerators or even sneak back into the marketplace.

The regulation is expected to be introduced next year.

Though the details have yet to be hammered out, officials involved in the drafting said yesterday that the regulation may require producers, retailers and consumers of electrical goods and the government to share the recycling bill.

Labels would be attached to old electrical goods that are processed and put on sale in the markets again to make sure that the second-hand devices comply with safety, quality and environmental standards.

"We are laying the groundwork for a sound legal system," said Ma Rong, who is in charge of the Department of Resources Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization under the State Economic and Trade Commission.

Ma, who is spearheading the drafting of the regulation, told China Daily yesterday that a bill on recycling can be introduced in the future if the regulation proves effective. The period of grace would be around three years, Ma added.

The drafting of the regulation is an immediate response to the growing heaps of electrical waste that, due to improper disposal, pollute water and even leak carcinogenic substances.

Chinese experts have warned that next year will usher in a new peak of electronic waste. It is predicted that around 15 million used electrical household appliances - ranging from refrigerators and TV sets to washing machines - will be dumped nationwide.

Residents contacted by China Daily were divided on the issue of paying part of the recycling fee.

Yang Yun, a 36-year-old lift operator in the city's Chaoyang District, said: "I am definitely in favour. It can ward off the health risks to my children."

But other residents said that no additional strings should be attached when people buy electrical goods.

Though some large enterprises have set up their own recycling facilities for electrical scrap, the bulk of electrical waste is collected by hawkers.

The vendors then either clean up the used goods to resell in rural markets or dismantle the goods for spare parts that can be sold and then dump the rest.

(China Daily November 27, 2002)