Producer Responsibility Utilization System Expanded to All Electrical and Electronic Products

The scope of the ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)’ system, under which producers are responsible for recycling waste after use, will be expanded to cover all electrical and electronic products. The requirement to comply with hazardous substance content standards will also be extended to all product categories.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Environment announced the legislative notice of the amendment to the subordinate regulations of the ‘Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Products and Automobiles,’ which centers on these changes.

The amendment primarily expands the EPR target to all electrical and electronic products. Currently, EPR applies only to 50 types of medium and large home appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators. Going forward, multifunctional products with ambiguous classifications, such as clothes dryers and portable fans, as well as medium and small imported products, will be included in the mandatory scope. However, certain items excluded by the European Union (EU), such as industrial equipment and military supplies, will continue to be exempted as before.

Exemptions from waste disposal fees will also be pursued. Businesses that manufacture or import electrical and electronic products are required to pay waste disposal fees. In principle, companies subject to EPR obligations also pay these fees. However, the Ministry of Environment has decided to exempt waste disposal fees to reduce the additional burden on companies. Originally, the fees payable by new companies amounted to 15.4 billion KRW annually, but with the exemption applied, 20.5 billion KRW will be deducted, reducing the actual cost by 5.1 billion KRW.

The requirement to comply with hazardous substance content standards will also be expanded to all electrical and electronic products. Newly obligated companies must establish a separate management system and provide proof of compliance.

Additionally, administrative procedures will be streamlined by exempting the submission of documents when paying recycling charges.

The Ministry of Environment expects that the legal amendment will enhance fairness in system implementation. Currently, some companies effectively shoulder the national recycling targets alone, but with this change, the entire industry will share the responsibility.

The added value of related industries is also expected to increase. According to the Ministry of Environment, the amendment will enable the recycling of 76,000 tons of waste electrical and electronic products annually. The iron and plastics extracted during this process are projected to generate environmental and economic benefits worth approximately 200 billion KRW per year through resource recirculation.

Yoo Seung-kwang, Director of the Resource Circulation Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, stated, “We will do our best to ensure the smooth establishment of the full expansion of the Producer Responsibility Recycling System for waste electrical and electronic products through policy support such as establishing a safe collection system and expanding recycling facilities.”