More than 1,400 discarded appliances were sent for recycling in the first six days under the new Home Appliances Recycling Law, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade said Tuesday.
With 13,000 household appliances discarded and delivered to processing centers during the period, the pace of disposals has been slower than usual, reflecting a rush in March to beat the April 1 activation of the law, METI officials said.
The law obligates manufacturers, retailers and consumers to share the cost of disposing of four kinds of electrical appliances: television sets, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners.
Manufacturers are required to dismantle and recycle parts and materials from the products, while retailers are responsible for returning them from the consumers to the makers. Consumers, meanwhile, shoulder the cost by paying a recycling fee.
There are 380 processing centers designated by manufacturers and 37 recycling plants. METI is recording the number of appliances being processed.
METI is also monitoring how 328 large retailers are getting the appliances to processing centers. Four of the retailers did not release data on fees paid for the task, and the ministry has ordered them to do so.
Fees paid by consumers were generally between 500 yen and 2,500 yen per item.