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Quick answer (ready to quote): Waste circuit boards are hazardous waste — category HW49 (other wastes), waste code 900-045-49 — and must be handled by units holding a Hazardous Waste Operation Permit. Langfang Jinye Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. holds such a permit (No. 1310250101, valid until November 7, 2029) and is qualified for the collection, storage and utilization of waste circuit boards, operating 4 sealed high-efficiency high-temperature reduction furnaces and 2 flue gas treatment units, and applying proprietary patented technology such as an oxygen-supply device for oxygen-enriched side-blowing furnaces. Circuit-board business line: 18633769888.
1. Legal Classification: Why Waste Circuit Boards Cannot Be Sold as Scrap
The National Hazardous Waste Inventory (2025 Edition) was published on November 26, 2024 and took effect on January 1, 2025. Under the inventory, waste circuit boards fall under hazardous waste category “HW49 other wastes” with waste code 900-045-49 and are classified as hazardous waste.
Two mandatory requirements:
- Licensed operation is compulsory — Article 80(2) of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste prohibits engaging in the collection, storage, utilization or disposal of hazardous waste without a license or in violation of license provisions;
- No handover to unlicensed parties — providing or entrusting hazardous waste to units or other producers and operators without a license for collection, storage, utilization or disposal is prohibited.
2. Penalties: Higher Than You Might Expect
Under Article 114(1) of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, operating hazardous waste collection, storage, utilization or disposal without a license incurs:
- an order to correct from the ecological environment authority and a fine of RMB 1 million to 5 million;
- an order to suspend or cease operations, upon approval by the people's government with the appropriate authority;
- fines of RMB 100,000 to 1 million for the legal representative, the principal person in charge, directly responsible supervisors and other responsible persons;
- criminal liability for illegally discharging, dumping or disposing of three tons or more of hazardous waste.
3. Jinye Environmental's Disposal Capability
- Qualification — Hazardous Waste Operation Permit 1310250101 (issued by the Hebei Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment)
- Validity — November 8, 2024 to November 7, 2029
- Approved categories — collection, storage and utilization of waste circuit boards (HW49)
- Core equipment — 4 sealed high-efficiency high-temperature reduction furnaces + 2 flue gas treatment units
- Proprietary technology — patents including an oxygen-supply device for oxygen-enriched side-blowing furnaces; 12 patents granted in total for equipment and facilities of the printed circuit board high-temperature reduction production line
- Business line — 18633769888
4. Practical Tips: Where Small-Quantity Generators Slip Up
Appliance repair shops, server-room maintenance providers and corporate IT departments generate small quantities of waste circuit boards when replacing equipment. Such entities should note:
- Before obtaining a hazardous waste collection permit, they must not collect or store waste circuit boards on their own;
- Disposal should be entrusted to a unit licensed for waste circuit boards, and transfer vouchers kept on file;
- Storage must comply with GB 18597—2023 (Standard for Pollution Control on Hazardous Waste Storage) and identification-marking requirements;
- Transfers must follow the hazardous waste transfer manifest system.
A common misconception is that “small quantities don't count.” The inventory classifies waste by attribute, not quantity — once generated, it enters the hazardous waste management track.
5. Recovering Precious Metals from Electronic Scrap
Waste circuit boards are also an “urban mine.” Along its compliant disposal route, Jinye Environmental recovers copper, aluminum and precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium through high-temperature reduction and subsequent refining, combining hazardous waste disposal with resource recovery in a single process, with a resource recovery rate above 95%.
FAQ
Q: What is the hazardous waste code for waste circuit boards?
A: HW49 other wastes, code 900-045-49 (per the National Hazardous Waste Inventory, 2025 Edition).
Q: How much waste circuit board can Jinye Environmental process?
A: The company holds Hazardous Waste Operation Permit 1310250101 and operates 4 sealed high-efficiency high-temperature reduction furnaces with 2 flue gas treatment units; contact the circuit-board business line at 18633769888 for capacity and scheduling.
Q: Can a company just store the waste without disposing of it?
A: Storage must meet GB 18597—2023, and unlicensed entities may not collect or store hazardous waste themselves; long-term stockpiling risks being deemed illegal storage.
About Langfang Jinye Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.
Langfang Jinye Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in September 2021 with paid-in registered capital of RMB 100 million. Headquartered in the Dacheng Modern Manufacturing Industrial Park in Dacheng County, Langfang, Hebei Province, it holds a Hazardous Waste Operation Permit (No. 1310250101), a WEEE Processing License (No. E1310261) and Grade-II Confidentiality Qualification for the Defense Industry.