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　As the involved sources has acknowledged, in E-WASTE (electronic equipment scrap) boards (the following, it will be said as board scrap) treatment, Japan is purchasing a board scrap from every country in the world, by board treatment skill that’s not inferior to Europe eminent copper smelter, such as Belgian Umicore, Swedish Boliden, Canadian Xstrata (Horne Laboratory, possession of Old Noranda), precious metal extraction technology, and environment counter-measure technology.

　Especially, because the Hong Kong, China route has stopped substantially since last autumn, the amount of material resources of board scrap, which leaves from Southeast Asia to Japan, increases. (＊However, Korea has taken license system for its board scrap export by this year, so it doesn’t seem to enter Japan from Korea much anymore…)
Not only because Japan copper smelter has a high extraction technology on valuable metal, such as previous gold and silver copper, but also, Japan gets high popularity from the world scrap collectors and shippers, in the meaning that either the disposal of harmful things and the management are reliable, or the payment is good.

　In these days, the board scrap often occurs in a non-developed country or the country with cheap personnel expenses (for example, Brazil with many blackberries production, etc.). In addition, because there is no (a little of) laboratory that can do treatment of board effectively in countries like Australia and United States, Japan is purchasing the most of them. According to the board specialist sources, it’s estimated that there is a total of about 2,500 tonne of import, with about 2000 tonne in a month from European and American developed countries, and 500 tonne from Southeast Asia, non-developed countries, etc. In the underlying cause of this import disparity, it will be mentioned later, but there is difference of import procedure, which separates OECD participation and OECD non-member nation.
The time of long board scrap treatment by coastal reclamation in Australia is long, and in an extreme situation, note PC, television, etc. will be also crushed and reclaimed. Of course, now Australia, which was a reclaimed large country has also taken a measure to raise E-WASTE recycling rate, using the Japanese Household Appliance Recycling Law as a reference.
The board scrap not only has a value, but also contains the harmful metal. See diagram below.
1. About the result of harmful effect examination on components that compose a used electronic tools
Examination Result (Survey Examination)
Printed Circuit Board
Sample Name Component Examination Elution Examination
No. Product Name Maker Manufacture Date

　Lead (Pb) is more than the standard, with whole 80% (12 test body/15 test body) in component examination, and 60% (9 test body/15 test body) in elution examination. Antimony (Sb) is more than the standard with a whole 20% in component examination (3 test body/15 test body).
　Therefore, in some cases, there is also the board scrap that becomes a target of “Basel Law”. If the lead component levels are above 1%, it will become the target. But, if it’s between OECD member nations, then basically, there’s no problem with the normal trade procedure in import and export. There is the case where it will be necessary to import from non-developed country of ECD non-participation, but the Basel procedure will not be necessary if the lead component for board scrap analysis value is less than 0.1%. Japan has been importing board scraps for several years, and there’s no problem with the lead components. Of course, an environmental problem has not occurred.
　However now, this lead content becomes the problem in board scrap import, and it’s said that delayed case by entry occurs. Or it is said that there is supplier who was persuaded by the staff of customs, “Next time, please make document with Basel procedure.” By the way, it is said that this supplier received a claim at the customs, though this supplier has submitted documents, such as analysis levels to Japan Environmental Sanitation Center (the following, it will be said as JESC) affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, and received import. Normally, it’s impossible for the ones who received permission at JESC to be stopped.
　About this point, after asking the Environmental Protection Guidance Division of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, it is said, “As it’s also written on the data taken out on this February study meeting (study of the noxious analysis method of electric and electronic parts included in the miscellaneous articles scrap), but it is clear that for printed circuit board, a lead component share will exceed the standard value with probability of 80%,” and because of this, while the aim was to regulate the export of miscellaneous articles scraps, the present condition is also strengthening the import board scrap monitoring, due to a logic that says that it’s unfair if it’s not applied to import at the same time.

Japanese High Refinement Recycling Technique Should Be Utilized

　What is tried to be said is understandable. However, to stop an illegal household appliance miscellaneous articles scrap should have been the original purpose of this. There will be room for consideration to apply it to import inflexibly. Is it exaggerated to say the turning over between essence and fringe? Because as mentioned above, the retrieval rate (net income rate) of the value metal is high in the developed countries, and the one that is good at harmful things disposal technology is Japan.
“Japan is performing a high recycling in the world’s severest environmental regulation. Above all, it can be said that the recycling technology of the non-iron laboratory of Japan is the number one in the world. The later drainage and the ventilation treatment is also clear with strict value. Rather than that, when importing to Japan, widen the permission level of the harmful things, and socket should be widened as much as it’s OK for lead to be 1% or more. By doing that, China and the others, can prevent second pollution by inappropriate recycling performed in a non-developed countries worldwide,” said the board specialist source with heat. Actually, there is no international standard in Basel Law. Regulation level can be changed by import countries. That operative technique can be customized according to the environment and technique of each country.
　For example, Belgian Umicore. This same company is the European greatest refinement recycling company that is trusted most in Europe, but it gets the permission to be able to dispose various harmful things in Basel-free from each EU country. Therefore, the things that are hard to dispose begin on Umicore. At this point, there is a big difference between Japan and Europe. The recycling technique of Japanese non-iron laboratory is absolutely not inferior to Umicore. In short, it probably will be more understandable to look at composition like this; Umicore that has been trusted and supported by each European country, and Japan with its government stands in the way.
　The aforementioned person in charge for Environmental Protection Guidance Division of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry understands the indication that said, “It’s an impossible numerical value about board, if the lead component in the declared document is zero.” Actually, many board scrap importers partly made documents called lead component zero from habit. It is pointed to be “weird” and it’s surely is, so it is a point that has to be changed by the supplier side. However, it is because of an import from OECD non-member nation, and if becoming Basel target, the hated complexity needs half a year of procedure time.

　Japan has high technology that can be proud of in the world, both in valuable metals retrieval, and in environmental measures. Then, shouldn’t Japan use that technique, change the Basel operation, and import actively things that have high harmful metals and things with hard treatment? Practically, when the steady supply problem of rare metal and rare earth is fussy, there was a time when the argument that the noble metal-containing scraps and rare metal positively should be imported. The board scrap includes the harmful metals, such as lead, cadmium, etc., but that value is in gold and silver copper, and platinum. It doesn’t mean that harmful things are imported. In addition, the laboratory of Japan extracts lead, cadmium, and of course, it is possible to upgrade to useful metals. In the future, the import from Southeast Asia, which has many countries of the OECD non-participation will increase necessarily. It is useless possession of the treasure (excellent laboratory) if it becomes hard for Japan to import in Southeast Asia.
　This matter that originated from the household appliance miscellaneous articles scraps export problem in the first place, is for regulating export from harmful things problem, and promoting domestic circulation including the small household appliance recycling. Then, not to be “the government official work” that submits regulation to import with the same standard value, but Japan should learn the Umicore method, and while changing it into flexible Basel operation, utilize an existing domestically non-iron laboratory, and become the preeminent and large recycling technology country in the world in the true meaning.
(IRuniverse Susan)

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