Promoting the circular economy can also stimulate consumption

In a news conference of the two sessions in Beijing on Wednesday, He Lifeng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the commission is drafting a recycling policy for used cars and household appliances to promote the development of the circular economy. Beijing News comments:

Chinese people use more than 200 million cars and hundreds of millions of refrigerators, TV sets, air conditioners, washing machines and other household appliances, many of which are replaced by new ones each year.

Statistics of the China Renewable Resources Recycling Association indicate that each year the number of household appliances and electronic products scrapped increases by about 20 percent. These include not only the ones that have reached the end of their useful life but also the ones replaced by new ones long before their retirement age.

With the coming of intelligent household appliance era, the upgrading of domestic appliances will only become faster.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, only 5 percent of nearly 400 million scrapped smartphones are recycled, with 50 percent sleeping somewhere at the owners' home, covered with dust, 20 percent get thrown away as rubbish and 15 percent are sold on. As for scrapped cars, 75 percent of their parts are recycled in some developed countries, while the proportion is about 10 percent in China. Most unwanted cars find their way into steel furnaces as old metal.

The huge recycling market has great untapped potential. Although many parties, ranging from small vendors to internet platforms, are active in the business, there has not yet formed a wholesome well-regulated market or an efficient and complete industrial chain behind it. Which results in serious waste of resources, land and energy, and causes grave pollution.

It is good to see the problem has finally grabbed the authorities' attention. The government should expedite the making of relevant rules and regulations to strengthen supervision, regulation and administration of the market and relevant industries.

The government can provide some subsidies at first to help raise people's awareness of recycling their old household appliances, which is the very first step to put the development of the industry on the right track.
Also, the legislature can consider passing a law making it an obligation for the companies that produce household appliances to collect and recycle, which has been the practice in some developed countries for a long time.