The director of the Institute of Recycling Economy and Technology at the China Electronics Engineering Design Institute has called for the Chinese government to allow some imports of WEEE.
Yang Jingzeng said that the country would not be able to generate enough resources from its own supplies or through recycling its waste to get enough resources for its manufacturing industry.
As a result, he said that the country should look to lift a ban on the import of WEEE to help protect China’s environment and allow goods manufactured in China to be returned for recycling.
However, he expects to see huge growth in China’s emerging domestic recycling industry and is encouraged by facilities such as a factory in Shanxi province that recycles used batteries back into new batteries.
He said: “That was impossible before, with used batteries in one place and treatment factories in another place or even no treatment factories at all.”
