The trade and environment ministries plan to submit a bill to the Diet this year to revise the Home Appliance Recycling Law. Violations of the law by retailers and the illegal dumping of used appliances by resellers of secondhand articles make the revision necessary. It is hoped the revision will make the recycling system easier to understand for consumers and contribute to better use of resources.

The law, which went into effect in April 2001, covers cathode-ray tube TV sets, air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators. When consumers replace them, they pay recycling fees of about ¥2,500 to nearly ¥5,000 to retailers. The retailers are required to pass the used product as well as the fees on to manufacturers, which recycle usable parts and materials.

A joint panel of the ministries proposes that the coverage be expanded to include liquid-crystal-display and plasma-display TV sets, and clothes dryers. This is a reasonable proposal since digital terrestrial TV services will start in July 2011.