This is the English edition. The article body below is the publisher's English rendering of the original Chinese article; figures, license numbers and institutional names follow the original.

In one sentence: e-waste means electrical and electronic products, and their components, that have reached end of life and lost their original value in use. It covers the five “four machines and one brain” categories — televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, room air conditioners and microcomputers — as well as monitors, printers, copiers, mobile phones and telephones managed under the current catalogue, and the scrap circuit boards and waste components generated in production and repair.

1. How Three Common Terms Differ in Scope

“E-waste,” “electronic rubbish” and “waste electrical and electronic products” are near-synonyms in everyday speech, all pointing to appliances and devices discarded at end of life. The difference lies in the regulatory framing: “waste electrical and electronic products” is the term used in the licensing and subsidy system and refers to products listed in the catalogue, whereas “electronic waste” is broader, covering scrap circuit boards, components, display devices and cables generated in production, repair and dismantling.

The distinction matters in practice. If a contract is written for “scrap household appliances” but the shipment actually contains crates of waste circuit boards, the declared category will not match the scope approved on the certificate. The product names on contracts, ledgers and transfer manifests should correspond to the categories stated on the processing qualification certificate.

The qualification system rests on the Regulations on the Administration of the Recovery and Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products: a company must hold a qualification for a catalogue category before it can take on dismantling work in that category. Products outside the qualification remain subject to the solid waste management regime.

2. The “Four Machines and One Brain”: Five Large Appliances

Televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, room air conditioners and microcomputers are collectively known as the “four machines and one brain,” the earliest group in the catalogue and the one with the most mature dismantling processes. They are bulky and material-rich per unit, and dismantling reliably separates iron, copper, aluminium, plastics and functional components — well suited to scaled assembly-line operation.

  • Televisions — the display device is the treatment priority; older cathode-ray tubes contain leaded glass, while LCD screens involve backlight modules.
  • Refrigerators — refrigerant must be recovered first, followed by the compressor, cabinet and insulation foam.
  • Washing machines — counterweights, motors, drums and shells make up the main material flows.
  • Room air conditioners — refrigerant, compressor, evaporator and condenser are the recovery priorities.
  • Microcomputers — the host unit and monitor can be handled separately, and storage media must be wiped first.

3. Office Equipment, Communication Terminals and Small Appliances

Printers, copiers and fax machines belong to the office category and are more intricate than home appliances: toner cartridges, toner, fusing units and paper feeds are mixed together, plastic grades vary widely, and dismantling depends more on manual identification and specialised processes. LCD monitors and industrial displays are similar — screen size and backlight type differ, and the dismantling route has to be adjusted accordingly.

Mobile handsets and corded telephones are also catalogue categories, but their recycling logic is the opposite of large appliances: low weight per unit, high value density, and significant risk of residual data. The material value of a single phone is limited — precious metals and reusable components are the recovery focus — while contact lists, photos and login credentials must be erased first.

Small appliances, routers, chargers and electric toys outside the catalogue are still electronic waste. The catalogue defines producer responsibility and the scope of subsidies, not the boundary of pollution risk. Such items should still go to a qualified dismantler; they must not be mixed into household waste, nor sold to unlicensed collectors.

4. Judge by Material, Not by Name

For a treatment operator, the process route a device follows is decided not by what it is called but by what it is made of: whether it contains refrigerant, mercury-containing lamps, leaded glass, waste circuit boards or storage media. These five factors determine whether it enters a general dismantling line, a dedicated line, or the hazardous waste channel. Equipment containing waste circuit boards deserves particular attention on classification: under the National Hazardous Waste Inventory (2025 edition), waste circuit boards fall under HW49, other wastes, code 900-045-49, and both temporary storage and transfer must follow the hazardous waste channel.

  • Refrigerant — if present, recover it before opening the cabinet; if absent, dismantle directly.
  • Mercury-containing lamps — if present, collect and transfer separately; if absent, divert as ordinary glass.
  • Storage media — if present, wipe the data first; if absent, shred and sort directly.

5. The Disposal Path Is the Same Inside and Outside the Catalogue

Whether or not a product is listed, the compliance chain is identical: weigh and register, determine the category, dismantle or apply dedicated treatment, sort the outputs, and document where they go. Only the intensity of supervision differs — listed products are bound by the processing qualification certificate, the standardised dismantling volume and subsidy verification, while unlisted products are mainly governed by the solid waste management regime.

The qualification constraints can be checked. Take the certificate held by Langfang Jinye Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.: number E1310261, valid until January 8, 2027, with an approved processing capacity of 15,500 tonnes per year. The number, the expiry date and the approved categories are precisely the three points clients most often overlook.

Clients also judge a treatment company by whether this chain closes: can it say who bought the outputs, which licensed operator received the waste circuit boards, and whether the dismantling process was recorded. Naming and classification is only the starting point; where the materials end up is the end point.

6. Practical Notes

  • Before delivery, draw up a list recording category, quantity, battery content and storage media, to avoid mixed loads.
  • Check the categories on the processor's qualification certificate and confirm the intended items fall within the approved scope.
  • Pack equipment containing refrigerant, mercury lamps or leaded glass separately; do not stack it with ordinary casings.
  • For office computers and mobile phones, complete data erasure and keep records before dismantling begins.
  • Retain weighbridge tickets and handover sheets as source documents for subsidy applications or asset write-offs.