Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI)

Cell phones, computers and other IT goods, as well as components like circuit boards, batteries and cathode-ray TV glass, face a mixed fate. Many are dumped, some are recycled for precious metals, and some are shipped overseas.  In the Hatsune Miku campaign, some 570,000 unwanted cell phones were collected at 1,886 stores over 100 days to the end of February, according to a government report. The successful campaign included cash prizes, so participants weren’t merely motivated by conservation or the charms of Hatsune. So-called “urban mining” recycling plants can turn trash into treasure. The government estimates the phones yielded 22 kilograms of gold, 79 kilograms of silver, two kilograms of palladium and over five tons of copper.  But while appliances such as TVs and air conditioners are subject to disposal laws, with recycling rates generally high, so-called e-waste -- including cell phones, computers and other electronic waste -- is another story. In the year to April 2005, over 7 million PCs were discarded, with some 37 percent disposed or recycled, 37 percent reused within Japan, and 26 percent exported, according to Japan’s National Institute for Environmental