---
title: "China e-waste recovery and disposal requirements"
canonical_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/requirements"
source_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/requirements"
author: "Sorena AI"
description: "China e-waste requirements for product lifecycle roles, qualified treatment, downstream evidence, and operator records."
published_at: "2026-07-05"
updated_at: "2026-07-25"
keywords:
  - "China e-waste"
  - "WEEE"
  - "Waste electrical and electronic products"
  - "Product compliance"
---
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# China e-waste recovery and disposal requirements

China e-waste requirements for product lifecycle roles, qualified treatment, downstream evidence, and operator records.

*Product* *China*

## China E-Waste Law e-waste recovery and disposal requirements

Start with catalogue scope and the legal definition of treatment, then apply the duties, deadlines, evidence, exceptions, and change triggers for the actor that performs each role.

China's e-waste framework applies to recovery, treatment, and related activities for discarded products within the treatment catalogue. It does not impose the same duty on every actor: scope the model against the full catalogue entry, classify the activity, identify who performs each role, and route covered treatment to a qualified enterprise.

## Definitions

### Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Catalogue

**Term:** treatment catalogue

The national treatment catalogue determines which discarded product categories fall within the State Council e-waste regulation. The 2014 edition, effective since 1 March 2016, contains 14 categories with product definitions and, for several entries, capacity, output, size, speed, tuner, or network boundaries.

**Why it matters here:** Match the exact model to the full entry before applying the regulation. Products outside an entry can still be governed by other product, waste, hazardous-waste, transport, import, or local requirements.

Sources:

- [Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Catalogue (2014 Edition)](https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/gg/201502/W020190905485475610247.pdf?ref=sorena.io)
- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, Article 3](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### Treatment under the e-waste regulation

**Term:** treatment

Treatment means dismantling; extracting substances for raw material or fuel; changing physical or chemical characteristics to reduce waste quantity or hazardous constituents; or final placement in a landfill that meets environmental requirements. Repair, refurbishment, and reuse as second-hand goods after repair or refurbishment are excluded.

**Why it matters here:** A business needs the treatment qualification for the listed treatment activities, not for collection, storage, transport, repair, or refurbishment alone. Classify mixed return streams by the activity actually performed on each unit or batch.

Sources:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, Article 2](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### Waste electrical and electronic product treatment qualification

**Term:** treatment qualification

This administrative qualification authorizes specified treatment by the named legal person at the stated facility. The certificate identifies covered product categories, main facilities and equipment with operating parameters, capacity, validity period, issue date, and certificate number. It does not authorize another group company, facility, category, or process.

**Why it matters here:** Except for the narrow Article 34 centralized-site route, covered treatment without the qualification or outside its certificate terms is prohibited. Verify every relevant certificate field before treatment or transfer.

Sources:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, Articles 6 and 22-24](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io)
- [Qualification Licensing Measures, Articles 8-11 and 16](https://www.mee.gov.cn/gzk/gz/202112/t20211210_963734.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### Provincially approved centralized treatment site

**Term:** centralized treatment site

Article 34 allows a provincial people's government to approve a centralized site for waste electrical and electronic product treatment. The site must have complete centralized pollution-treatment facilities, meet national or local emission and solid-waste pollution-control technical standards, comply with the regulation, and align with industrial-zone, land-use, and urban-rural planning.

**Why it matters here:** This is the express exception referenced by Article 22's general qualification prohibition. Do not treat an ordinary industrial park, recycling cluster, or shared facility as exempt without the provincial approval and Article 34 conditions.

Sources:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, Articles 22 and 34](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### Qualified treatment enterprise

**Term:** treatment enterprise

A treatment enterprise is an enterprise authorized to treat catalogue-listed waste electrical and electronic products. It must operate within its certificate, maintain pollution controls and routine monitoring, use a treatment data-information management system, report and disclose required information, and keep the prescribed records.

**Why it matters here:** Collectors without their own treatment qualification and institutional holders of discarded products must route covered waste to a qualified treatment enterprise.

Sources:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, Articles 11-17](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io)
- [Qualification Licensing Measures, Articles 16 and 19-20](https://www.mee.gov.cn/gzk/gz/202112/t20211210_963734.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### Former waste electrical and electronic product treatment fund

**Term:** treatment fund

The regulation created a fund financed by domestic producers and import consignees or agents. A later four-ministry announcement stopped collecting the treatment fund on 1 January 2024 and ended the former fund subsidy for products treated from that date. Central special funding now follows a separate support mechanism.

**Why it matters here:** Do not describe fund payment as a current producer or importer duty for periods from 1 January 2024. Historical liabilities and records for earlier periods remain period-specific.

Sources:

- [Announcement on cessation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Fund](https://szs.mof.gov.cn/zt/mlqd_8464/zcgd/202401/t20240118_3926323.htm?ref=sorena.io)
- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, Article 7](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### HJ 527-2026 pollution-control specification

**Term:** HJ 527-2026

HJ 527-2026 is the current national ecological-environment standard for pollution control in waste electrical and electronic product treatment. It applies to storage, dismantling, and the use or disposal of treatment outputs and includes environmental-management requirements. It took effect on 1 March 2026 and replaced HJ 527-2010.

**Why it matters here:** A qualification certificate establishes the permitted operator, facility, categories, equipment, parameters, and capacity. It does not replace compliance with HJ 527-2026 or other environmental, waste, safety, planning, and local requirements for the actual operation.

Sources:

- [HJ 527-2026 Technical specification for pollution control of waste electrical and electronic equipment treatment](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/bz/bzwb/gthw/gtfwwrkzbz/202602/t20260204_1143642.shtml?ref=sorena.io)

### China RoHS hazardous-substance regime

**Term:** China RoHS

China RoHS is the product-facing regime under the Measures for the Administration of the Restricted Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products. It addresses hazardous-substance restriction, marking and disclosure, environmental protection use periods, and conformity assessment for products in the applicable compliance-management catalogue.

**Why it matters here:** China RoHS does not decide e-waste catalogue scope, treatment qualification, downstream waste classification, or the treatment route. Keep a separate conclusion for each regime.

Sources:

- [Measures for the Administration of the Restricted Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products](https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/zfs/gzdt/art/2020/art_26714a290ac8407fb6df9eb816c2596f.html?ref=sorena.io)

## What China e-waste rules require in practice

China's framework combines a catalogue trigger, multi-channel collection, centralized qualified treatment, role-specific duties, and environmental supervision. The regulation created a treatment fund, but collection stopped on 1 January 2024. Except for a provincially approved centralized treatment site under Article 34, an enterprise may perform covered treatment only after obtaining the treatment qualification.

The regulation and licensing measures have applied since 1 January 2011. The regulation was revised on 2 March 2019; that revision date is historical context, not a future implementation deadline. Regional treatment development plans are revised every five years, and a plan revision triggers authority review and certificate replacement for operators that intend to continue.

- Match the discarded product to the full catalogue category definition and limits, then decide whether the activity is treatment rather than excluded repair, refurbishment, or second-hand reuse. Representative boundaries include refrigerator volume <=800 litres, room-air-conditioner cooling output <=14,000 W, washing capacity <=10 kg, electric-water-heater capacity <=500 litres, gas-water-heater heat load <=70 kW, and printer or copier format smaller than A2 at <=80 pages per minute.
- Identify producer/import, seller/repair, collector, and treatment-enterprise duties separately.
- Use a treatment enterprise whose certificate covers the relevant legal person, facility, waste category, equipment, operating parameters, capacity, and validity period. Except for the narrow Article 34 route for a provincially approved centralized treatment site meeting its stated pollution-control and planning conditions, covered treatment without the qualification is prohibited.
- For treatment operations, maintain pollution controls, emergency measures, competent personnel, routine environmental monitoring, and a data-information system with required reporting and public disclosure. Keep the operator's routine monitoring separate from the authority's supervisory monitoring, which the licensing measures require at least once every six months. HJ 527-2026 has applied since 1 March 2026 and replaced HJ 527-2010.
- Do not import waste electrical or electronic products whose import is prohibited by the state; collection, storage, transport, and treatment must also follow applicable environmental-protection and sanitation rules.
- A treatment enterprise must keep its basic treatment data for at least three years. The licensing measure also requires monitoring reports to be kept for at least three years.
- Unqualified treatment can lead to shutdown or closure, confiscation of illegal proceeds, and a CNY 50,000-500,000 fine. Missing required product information, data systems or reports, basic-data retention, or routine monitoring has separate correction orders and possible fines.

Sources for this answer:

- [Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Catalogue (2014 Edition)](https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/gg/201502/W020190905485475610247.pdf?ref=sorena.io) - Defines the 14 covered categories and the product-specific volume, output, capacity, format, speed, tuner, and network boundaries used in the scope test.
- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 2-7 and 10-19 establish scope, the treatment definition, collection and qualified-treatment systems, fund duties, actor duties, monitoring, reporting, and basic-data retention; Articles 27-32 state the relevant information, unqualified-treatment, data, and monitoring consequences.
- [Qualification Licensing Measures for Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Disposal](https://www.mee.gov.cn/gzk/gz/202112/t20211210_963734.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 3, 7, 11, 14, 16, 19, and 20 establish the five-year regional-plan cycle, review after plan revision, operator conditions, certificate boundaries, unqualified-treatment prohibitions, operator and supervisory monitoring, monitoring-report retention, reporting, and public disclosure.
- [Announcement on cessation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Fund](https://szs.mof.gov.cn/zt/mlqd_8464/zcgd/202401/t20240118_3926323.htm?ref=sorena.io) - Stopped treatment-fund collection on 1 January 2024 and ended the former subsidy for products treated from that date.
- [HJ 527-2026 Technical specification for pollution control of waste electrical and electronic equipment treatment](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/bz/bzwb/gthw/gtfwwrkzbz/202602/t20260204_1143642.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Current pollution-control and environmental-management specification, effective since 1 March 2026 in place of HJ 527-2010.

## Practical compliance steps

Map each requirement to the actor that performs it. Producers, import consignees, or their agents address design, material, and product-information duties. Their former treatment-fund payment process applies only to periods before 1 January 2024. Sellers, repairers, and after-sales providers display recovery and treatment information. Collectors provide convenient collection and must transfer covered waste to a qualified treatment enterprise unless they hold the treatment qualification.

For a treatment enterprise, certificate conditions are operating boundaries. A changed legal-person name, legal representative, or registered address requires an amendment application to the original issuing authority within 15 working days after the business-registration change. Adding a product category, building a new facility, altering or expanding an existing facility, or treating more than 20% above certified capacity requires a new application through the original procedure.

- Producer or importer: use designs and materials that support resource use and less-harmful treatment and provide the required hazardous-substance content and recovery information. The former fund-payment process is relevant only to periods before 1 January 2024.
- Seller, repairer, or after-sales provider: display recovery and treatment information prominently at the business premises.
- Collector: provide convenient collection and transfer covered waste to a qualified treatment enterprise unless the collector itself is qualified to treat it.
- Institution, group, enterprise, or public-service unit: use a qualified treatment enterprise and follow applicable asset-write-off and state-secrecy procedures.
- Treatment enterprise: operate within the certificate; maintain facilities, pollution controls, environmental management, an annual monitoring plan, routine emissions monitoring, and data systems; report and publish required information; and retain basic treatment data and monitoring reports for at least three years. Cooperate with written and on-site supervision; do not treat the authority's supervisory monitoring as a substitute for the operator's own monitoring.
- Treatment enterprise ending operations: control pollution at the site, properly handle untreated waste, apply for cancellation within 20 days after taking those measures, support the authority's on-site inspection, and complete the required environmental investigation, risk assessment, and any necessary remediation.
- All collectors, storers, transporters, and treatment actors: follow applicable environmental-protection and sanitation requirements.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 10-19 allocate the product, display, collection, institutional-holder, treatment, monitoring, reporting, and general environmental duties by actor.
- [Qualification Licensing Measures for Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Disposal](https://www.mee.gov.cn/gzk/gz/202112/t20211210_963734.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 12-16 define certificate amendment, reapplication, replacement, termination, and prohibited treatment.

## Evidence to keep before launch or change approval

The binding records in these instruments fall mainly on the treatment enterprise: its data-information system, periodic reports to the issuing authority, public disclosure, basic treatment data retained for at least three years, annual monitoring plan, and monitoring reports retained for at least three years.

For other actors, a catalogue scope note, role matrix, certificate copy, contract, shipment record, receipt, and change log are practical evidence. These instruments do not prescribe one universal compliance file or handoff form.

- Catalogue entry and model-specification mapping.
- Activity classification and actor-role matrix.
- Treatment qualification certificate and verification record.
- Contract, shipment, receipt, quantity, and destination evidence.
- Treatment-enterprise data, reports, disclosures, monitoring plan, and retained monitoring reports.
- Exception with its legal basis and approval, corrective-action record, and change-review record for catalogue, model, activity, entity, facility, category, equipment, capacity, certificate, and downstream-route changes.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 16-17 require routine monitoring, treatment-data reporting, and retention of basic treatment data for at least three years.
- [Qualification Licensing Measures for Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Disposal](https://www.mee.gov.cn/gzk/gz/202112/t20211210_963734.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 19-20 require an annual monitoring plan, monitoring reports retained for at least three years, a data-information system, reporting, and public disclosure.

## Boundary with nearby China regimes

The regulation refers to product pollution-control rules and required hazardous-substance content and recovery information, but it does not replace the separate China RoHS analysis. Nor does a treatment qualification decide every hazardous-waste, transport, import, HJ 527-2026 performance, or funding question.

Use the same verified model and material facts where relevant, but keep separate conclusions for product restrictions, catalogue scope, treatment qualification, downstream waste classification, and fund administration.

- Assuming every electrical or electronic product is in the catalogue.
- Treating encouraged producer collection as a general mandatory take-back duty.
- Treating a recycler label, collection invoice, or sustainability claim as proof of qualified treatment.
- Treating the former producer/importer fund payment as a current duty after collection stopped on 1 January 2024, or treating the cessation announcement as removing the remaining catalogue, qualification, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping duties.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 3, 7, and 10-12 distinguish catalogue scope, fund duties, pollution-control information, encouraged collection, and qualified treatment.

*Put the requirement into practice*

*Placement: Before primary sources*

## Prepare the qualified disposal evidence file

Assign each China e-waste duty to the entity that performs the role and retain the supporting records.

- [Map official sources to evidence](/solutions/research-copilot.md): Keep the catalogue scope, activity classification, qualification boundary, HJ 527-2026 controls, and operator records together.
- [Review the China route](/contact.md): Check the China E-Waste Law scope decision and unresolved launch questions with Sorena.

## Primary sources

- [Regulation on Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/xzfg/201909/t20190918_734319.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Use for waste electrical/electronic product recovery and disposal scope, producer and disposal duties, qualified treatment, recordkeeping, penalties, 1 January 2011 effective date, and 2019 revision.
- [Qualification Licensing Measures for Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Disposal](https://www.mee.gov.cn/gzk/gz/202112/t20211210_963734.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Sets detailed treatment qualification, certificate, operating, monitoring, reporting, supervision, and enforcement requirements.
- [Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Catalogue (2014 Edition)](https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/gg/201502/W020190905485475610247.pdf?ref=sorena.io) - Lists the 14 covered product categories and the definitions and limits used for scope.
- [Announcement on cessation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Product Treatment Fund](https://szs.mof.gov.cn/zt/mlqd_8464/zcgd/202401/t20240118_3926323.htm?ref=sorena.io) - Current source for the 1 January 2024 end of treatment-fund collection and the former fund subsidy route.
- [HJ 527-2026 Technical specification for pollution control of waste electrical and electronic equipment treatment](https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/bz/bzwb/gthw/gtfwwrkzbz/202602/t20260204_1143642.shtml?ref=sorena.io) - Current treatment pollution-control standard, effective since 1 March 2026.

## Related Topic Guides

- [China e-waste compliance checklist](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/checklist.md): Checklist for covered product scope, qualified disposal partner review, disposal records, and downstream evidence.
- [China e-waste deadlines and compliance calendar](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/deadlines-and-compliance-calendar.md): China e-waste treatment permit deadlines, change triggers, monitoring dates, record-retention periods, and historical milestones.
- [China E-Waste Law FAQ](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/faq.md): China e-waste FAQ covering treatment-catalogue scope, actor duties, qualified treatment, operator records, and the boundary with China RoHS.
- [China e-waste penalties and enforcement exposure](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/penalties-and-fines.md): China e-waste fines and permit consequences by actor, violation, enforcement authority, and required correction.
- [China e-waste treatment qualification workflow](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/disposal-qualification-license-workflow.md): Decide whether a China e-waste treatment qualification is required, apply through the correct authority, and control certificate changes.
- [Covered products and e-waste recovery scope](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/covered-products-and-recovery-scope.md): How to document product family scope for China waste electrical and electronic product recovery and disposal without guessing catalogue coverage.
- [E-waste disposal operator qualification checklist](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/e-waste-disposal-operator-qualification-checklist.md): Verify China e-waste catalogue scope, treatment activity, facility-specific qualification, capacity, monitoring, downstream handoffs, and change triggers.
- [E-waste recycler contract and records template](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/e-waste-recycler-contract-and-records-template.md): Contract schedule and records register for checking China e-waste treatment qualifications, handoffs, treatment data, and changes.
- [How is China e-waste different from China RoHS?](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/faq/how-is-china-e-waste-different-from-china-rohs.md): China e-waste rules govern catalogued products at end of life. China RoHS governs hazardous-substance controls, marking, disclosure, and catalogue-based conformity assessment.
- [Producer and disposal operator duties](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/producer-and-disposal-operator-duties.md): How producers, sellers, recyclers, and disposal operators should separate e-waste responsibilities and records.
- [What records should a producer keep for e-waste recovery and disposal?](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/faq/what-records-should-a-producer-keep-for-e-waste-recovery-and-disposal.md): Separate the producer's own China e-waste evidence from records that the qualified treatment enterprise must keep for at least three years.
- [When does a disposal operator need a waste electrical product qualification permit?](/artifacts/apac/china-e-waste-law/faq/when-does-a-disposal-operator-need-a-waste-electrical-product-qualification-permit.md): An enterprise needs a treatment qualification before treating products in China's e-waste Treatment Catalogue, subject to the Regulation's narrow centralized-site provision.


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