This article was written by the NIPPON VISA & LIFE editorial team based on information from public organizations such as the national government and local governments. Rules and fees may differ depending on the city, ward, town or village where you live.
In Japan, small electronics such as computers, smartphones and digital cameras are often thrown away in a different way from regular garbage. The basic ways are collection by the manufacturer for computers, mobile phone shops for smartphones, and collection by your city, ward, town or village for other small electronics. Before throwing away a computer, do not forget to erase the data yourself.
TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners follow different rules. See How to Throw Away a TV, Refrigerator, Washing Machine or Air Conditioner in Japan: Disposal Methods and Fees for the 4 Items Covered by the Home Appliance Recycling Act. The overall rules for sorting garbage are summarized in How to Sort and Put Out Garbage in Japan: Basic Rules for Burnable, Recyclable and Oversized Garbage.
The Short Answer: What to Put Out and Where
| What you are throwing away | Main places to put it out |
|---|---|
| Computers (desktop units, laptops, displays) | (1) Apply to the computer’s manufacturer (2) Small electronics collection by your municipality or an electronics retailer (a large electronics store) |
| Smartphones and mobile phones | Mobile phone company shops (free) |
| Digital cameras, game consoles, electronic dictionaries, etc. | Small electronics collection by your municipality (collection boxes, etc.) |
| Removable rechargeable batteries and mobile batteries (power banks) | As your municipality instructs (if it is only a rechargeable battery, some stores also collect batteries) |
Erasing the data on a computer is the responsibility of the person throwing it away (see “Before Throwing It Away: Erase the Data on Your Computer” below). When you put items out for municipal collection, some municipalities ask you to remove any removable batteries first (example: Shinjuku City).
A law called the Small Home Appliance Recycling Act sets up a system in which municipalities and electronics retailers collect small electronics, and businesses certified by the national government recycle them. However, not every place collects the same items. The items collected and the methods differ by municipality and by store.
(Sources: Ministry of the Environment “Small Home Appliance Recycling Act: Overview of the Law and Related Laws and Regulations”, PC 3R Promotion Association “Collection of Computers through Small Home Appliance Recycling”)
How to Throw Away a Computer
Method 1: Apply to the Manufacturer for Collection
Computer manufacturers are required to collect and recycle computers that households have finished using. The following items are covered.
- Desktop computer units
- Laptop computers
- LCD displays and cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays (computer monitors)
- All-in-one computers with a built-in display
Keyboards, mice, cables and other items that came with the computer when you bought it are collected if you put them out together with the computer. Printers and other peripheral devices are not covered.
Steps
- Check the computer’s manufacturer name, type (desktop, laptop, etc.) and model number.
- From the PC 3R Promotion Association’s “List of Manufacturer Contacts,” go to that manufacturer’s application page and apply. Many manufacturers accept applications online.
- The manufacturer sends you an “Eco Yu-Pack slip” (a special shipping slip with the destination and other details printed on it).
- Wrap the computer yourself. Anything you have at home, such as a cardboard box or a thick plastic bag, is fine. Wrap the unit and the display separately.
- Attach the slip and either ask the post office to pick it up or take it to a post office yourself. It cannot be sent from a convenience store or a simplified post office.
- If the unit and the display are from different manufacturers, apply to each manufacturer.
- If you take the computer to a post office without applying, it will not be accepted.
- You need to be at home for the pickup. When you request it by phone, tell them the times you will be at home.
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “Recycling Procedure”, PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”)
Fees: Check for the “PC Recycle Mark”
Check whether there is a “PC Recycle Mark” on the back or bottom of the computer unit.
| Mark | Fee |
|---|---|
| Yes | The manufacturer collects it free of charge |
| No (such as computers sold up to September 2003) | A collection and recycling fee is charged. Each manufacturer sets the amount |
- Even when there is a fee, no separate postage is charged.
- Computers whose manufacturer no longer exists (went bankrupt or left the business) and computers you assembled yourself are collected by the PC 3R Promotion Association. In this case, a fee is charged even if there is a mark.
- For a computer you bought secondhand or received from someone, also apply to its manufacturer.
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “About the PC Recycle Mark”, PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”, PC 3R Promotion Association “If You Cannot Find the Manufacturer’s Name”)
Method 2: Put It Out for Small Electronics Collection by Your Municipality or an Electronics Retailer
People throwing away a computer are not required to hand it over to the manufacturer. As long as the method is proper, you can choose how to put it out.
- Municipalities: Some collect computers as part of small home appliance recycling. Some also collect them as oversized garbage or non-burnable garbage. On the other hand, many municipalities do not collect computers as garbage.
- Electronics retailers: Some stores collect computers as part of small home appliance recycling. However, not every store does. Check on the store’s website or at the store whether it collects them, how, and the fee.
You can check whether your municipality collects computers with the municipality’s garbage section, its website, or its garbage calendar (a chart of garbage collection days).
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”, PC 3R Promotion Association “Collection of Computers through Small Home Appliance Recycling”)
How to Throw Away a Smartphone or Mobile Phone
Mobile phone company shops collect used mobile phones and smartphones free of charge (Mobile Recycle Network).
- They collect not only the phone itself but also batteries and chargers.
- They accept them at any time, even if you are not changing models or signing a contract. Old models are also fine.
- You can also consult the shop about moving your photos and data to a new phone.
You may also be able to put them out for your municipality’s small electronics collection. For example, Shinjuku City also collects mobile phones in the city’s collection boxes and at its counters.
(Sources: Telecommunications Carriers Association “Overview of the Mobile Recycle Network (MRN)”, Shinjuku City “How to Put Out Used Small Electronic Devices”)
How to Throw Away Digital Cameras, Game Consoles and Other Small Electronics
Some municipalities collect small electronics in collection boxes placed at city offices and other places, or at counters. Whether a municipality takes part in small home appliance recycling and which items it collects differ by municipality.
Example: Shinjuku City, Tokyo
- Items collected: mobile phones, digital cameras, portable video cameras, portable music players, portable game consoles, portable car navigation systems, electronic dictionaries, calculators, and accessories such as remote controls, AC adapters and cables
- Where to put them: special collection boxes placed on the 1st floor of the main city office building, at branch offices and other places, and at the counters of sanitation offices and other facilities
- Small electronics that cannot be put in the collection boxes or taken to the counters become “metal, ceramic and glass garbage” or “oversized garbage.”
- Remove any removable batteries first before taking the items.
- Items you put out will not be returned.
- Staff do not erase data when collecting items. The person putting the item out is responsible for erasing personal information.
Other municipalities have different rules. Search online for “(name of your city, ward, town or village) 小型家電” or ask your municipality’s garbage section.
(Sources: Shinjuku City “How to Put Out Used Small Electronic Devices”, PC 3R Promotion Association “Collection of Computers through Small Home Appliance Recycling”)
Be Careful with Rechargeable Batteries and Mobile Batteries
Laptops, smartphones, mobile batteries and similar devices contain rechargeable batteries such as lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to strong impacts and high temperatures and can catch fire. Fires have occurred at garbage processing facilities and other places.
- When putting them out from your home, throw them away following the rules of your city, ward, town or village (Ministry of the Environment).
- Rechargeable batteries are required to show a recycling mark as an identifying sign.
- Battery-only collection is also done at the “Recycling Cooperating Stores” of JBRC (an organization that recycles rechargeable batteries).
Example: Shinjuku City, Tokyo
- Small rechargeable batteries and mobile batteries are collected at resource and garbage collection points (the places where garbage is put out) on resource collection day (once a week).
- Put tape over the terminals (metal parts) and cable ports, and put only the batteries in a plastic bag you can see through.
- Remove the batteries inside small electronics before putting them out. If you cannot remove them, put the item out as “metal, ceramic and glass garbage,” not as a resource.
- Put out mobile batteries without taking them apart.
- Batteries that have swollen or changed shape should be taken to a sanitation office or sanitation center, not to the collection point.
How to put out batteries, spray cans, lighters and other garbage that may catch fire is summarized in How to Throw Away Spray Cans, Batteries and Lighters in Japan: Disposing of Dangerous Waste Such as Lithium-Ion Batteries and Gas Canisters.
(Sources: Ministry of the Environment “Lithium-Ion Batteries”, Shinjuku City “How to Put Out Small Rechargeable Batteries”, PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”)
Before Throwing It Away: Erase the Data on Your Computer
A computer’s hard disk contains important information. Erasing the data is the responsibility of the person throwing the computer away. Manufacturers take steps to prevent information from leaking, such as destroying the hard disk when processing collected computers, but the basic rule is to erase the data yourself just in case.
On a computer, data may remain even if you only “empty the trash” or “reset (initialize)” it. This is because the data can sometimes be read using special software. The PC 3R Promotion Association recommends methods such as the following.
- Use special data erasure software (introduced on the websites of computer manufacturers and retailers)
- Erase it with a special device (ask a company that offers data erasure services)
- Destroy the hard disk with a special machine (some retailers offer this service)
- Please do not take out the hard disk yourself and break it by hitting it with a hammer or similar tool. The discs inside may be made of glass, and you could get hurt.
- Even if the computer is broken and does not work, data may remain on the hard disk. If you cannot erase it yourself, consult the manufacturer.
- With municipal collection, staff do not erase data (example: Shinjuku City). When you take a smartphone to a mobile phone company shop, the shop takes measures to prevent information from leaking. You can also consult them about moving your photos and data.
(Sources: Shinjuku City “How to Put Out Used Small Electronic Devices”, Telecommunications Carriers Association “Overview of the Mobile Recycle Network (MRN)”, PC 3R Promotion Association “About Data Erasure”, PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”)
Troubles and Common Mistakes
Can I give it to a business that says “we collect for free”?
Be careful. The PC 3R Promotion Association warns that some collectors may be bad businesses that do not follow the law, for example by reselling items abroad or reselling personal information. The Ministry of the Environment explains that for an unwanted item collection business to collect household garbage, it needs a general waste collection and transportation business permit from the municipality or a contract from the municipality. Do not hand items over to an unwanted item collection business whose permit or contract cannot be confirmed (this does not mean the manufacturer collection, mobile phone shops, or municipal and electronics retailer collection explained in this article). If you have trouble, you can consult the Consumer Hotline (188) (a number that guides you to a nearby Consumer Affairs Center or similar office).
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”, Ministry of the Environment “Do Not Use ‘Unlicensed’ Collectors to Dispose of Waste!”)
I want to throw away only computer parts or a battery
Parts alone are not covered by manufacturers’ computer collection. Ask your city, ward, town or village. If it is only a laptop battery, JBRC’s “Recycling Cooperating Stores” collect it.
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”)
Is a computer monitor the same as a TV?
No. A computer monitor (display) is covered by computer collection, not by the rules for TVs (the Home Appliance Recycling Act).
(Sources: Association for Electric Home Appliances, RKC Center “List of Covered Waste (4 Types of Home Appliances)”, PC 3R Promotion Association “Recycling Procedure”)
I want to throw everything away before returning home or moving
For a computer that requires a fee for manufacturer collection, the slip arrives a few days after you pay the fee. Once your moving date or the date you return to your home country is decided, apply early. Moving procedures are summarized in Checklist for Moving Within Japan: moving-out notification, moving-in notification, residence card, electricity, gas and water, and mail forwarding.
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “PC Recycling Q&A”)
Where to Ask
- Computer collection (you do not know the manufacturer, the manufacturer no longer exists, or you assembled it yourself): PC 3R Promotion Association, PC Recycling Reception Center, phone 044-540-0576
- How to put out small electronics other than computers, and batteries: The garbage section of the city, ward, town or village where you live
- About the Small Home Appliance Recycling Act: The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
(Sources: PC 3R Promotion Association “If You Cannot Find the Manufacturer’s Name”, Ministry of the Environment “Small Home Appliance Recycling”)
Primary Sources Used for This Article
- Ministry of the Environment “Small Home Appliance Recycling”
- Ministry of the Environment “Small Home Appliance Recycling Act: Overview of the Law and Related Laws and Regulations”
- Ministry of the Environment “Lithium-Ion Batteries”
- Ministry of the Environment “Do Not Use ‘Unlicensed’ Collectors to Dispose of Waste!”
- PC 3R Promotion Association (general incorporated association) “Recycling Procedure”
- PC 3R Promotion Association (general incorporated association) “About the PC Recycle Mark”
- PC 3R Promotion Association (general incorporated association) “About Data Erasure”
- PC 3R Promotion Association (general incorporated association) “Collection of Computers through Small Home Appliance Recycling”
- PC 3R Promotion Association (general incorporated association) “If You Cannot Find the Manufacturer’s Name”
- PC 3R Promotion Association (general incorporated association) “PC Recycling Q&A”
- Telecommunications Carriers Association (general incorporated association) “Overview of the Mobile Recycle Network (MRN)”
- Association for Electric Home Appliances (general incorporated foundation), RKC Center “List of Covered Waste (4 Types of Home Appliances)”
- Shinjuku City “How to Put Out Used Small Electronic Devices”
- Shinjuku City “How to Put Out Small Rechargeable Batteries”
This article is a translation of the original Japanese version.
