Thirty-two lawmakers have proposed that China should formulate a law on recycling and utilizing used household electrical appliances.
The proposal was made by Lu Yuying and 31 other deputies to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
These deputies said that China is a populous country and yet a country relatively deficient in resources. It is, therefore, all the more necessary to enact a law to introduce a system for recycling such appliances.
The new law should state that manufacturers, sellers and consumers should be responsible for recycling and utilizing these appliances.
The law should set standards for the quality of used appliances and contain articles on penalizing those discarding such appliances at will and encouraging manufacturers to develop environment-friendly appliances.
According to the deputies, China currently has 400 million TV sets, 120 million refrigerators, 170 million washing machines and 16 million personal computers. Most of these appliances have entered or will enter soon the discarding period.
Beginning in 2003, an estimated five million large electrical appliances such as washing machines, TV sets, refrigerators, air-conditioners and computers will be estimated each year.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2002)
