Have you also hoarded a drawer full of old chargers and charging cables? When the interfaces become outdated or the items break, you worry about pollution if you throw them in ordinary trash cans, but they take up space if you keep them. If you live in China or run a cross-border business selling charging products, you need to understand China’s rules related to e-waste and renewable resource recycling — it is not just a slogan of “be environmentally friendly”, but a management system composed of solid waste management, local waste sorting, product environmental labeling, and more.
Many people think this set of rules only covers large electronic products like mobile phones and computers, and others think charging accessories must be catalogue products under the Regulations on the Administration of the Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products. In fact, both of these understandings are inaccurate. Products such as chargers, charging cables, and power banks require safe and environmentally friendly disposal after being scrapped, but they are not currently included in the Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal (2014 Edition).
Next, we will explain the recycling rules related to charging products from beginner to advanced levels, so that even if you are encountering them for the first time, you can understand and apply them.
First, Understand: What Is the Connection Between These Recycling Rules and Charging Products?
First, we need to correct a common perception: China’s “electronic product recycling management measures” are not a single law, but a collective term for a whole set of rules targeting e-waste, renewable resources, and domestic waste sorting. One of the core bases is the Regulations on the Administration of the Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, along with supporting catalogues, standards, and local regulations.
Chargers, power banks, charging cables and other products we use daily are not currently listed in the Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal (2014 Edition), but after being scrapped, they may still be affected by rules on general solid waste, renewable resource recycling, local domestic waste sorting, and battery safety. In particular, power banks with lithium-ion batteries cannot be disposed of arbitrarily after being damaged, swollen, or exposed to water.
The core purposes of this set of rules are threefold: first, to prevent old electronic products from being discarded at will, so that the metals, plastics and other substances they may contain do not enter the environment; second, to recover reusable materials such as copper, plastics, and metals to reduce resource waste; third, to make different links including production, sales, recycling, and use bear corresponding responsibilities, instead of relying entirely on the government to pay.
For overseas learners, understanding this set of rules is very practical: if you live, study, or work in China, you can know how to dispose of old charging products more safely and in line with local requirements; if you run a cross-border business selling charging products to China, you can clarify in advance the requirements for product quality, certification, labeling, RoHS, and import; you can also quickly compare the core differences between China’s recycling rules and those of your own country.
People who are new to this topic often have several misconceptions, which we will correct in advance:
- It is not only entire mobile phones and computers that are worth recycling; the copper, plastics, and electronic components in charging accessories can also enter the renewable resource recycling system;
- It is not only domestic brands that must comply; products sold to China by imported brands and overseas brands must also comply with applicable Chinese rules;
- It is not that chargers without batteries can be ignored; how to dispose of them depends on local waste sorting and recycling requirements;
- Having an environmental label does not mean you can throw them directly into ordinary recycling bins; the environmental label mainly reflects information on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in products, and does not specify the disposal channel after scrapping.
Define the Scope: Which Charging Products Must Comply with the Rules?
To judge whether a charging product is subject to the catalogue, special fund, and standardized disassembly and disposal systems under the Regulations on the Administration of the Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, you cannot only look at whether it is a consumer product, or whether it has a chip or circuit board. Instead, you must check item by item against the current catalogue and corresponding product definitions.
The current Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal (2014 Edition) lists 14 categories of products, which do not include chargers, power adapters, charging cables, or mobile power supplies. That is to say, independently sold chargers, fast-charging cables with chips, and power banks cannot be classified as catalogue products just because they contain electronic components; whether they are given away with the whole machine or sold independently is also not a criterion for judging whether they are included in the catalogue.
However, not being included in the catalogue does not mean that they are not subject to any environmental or waste management rules. Old charging accessories should still be disposed of in combination with the product status, waste properties, and local rules. Equipment for industrial, communication, vehicle-mounted, medical and scientific research purposes cannot simply be said to be “completely inapplicable”, but should be judged according to the nature of the waste they generate, as well as industry and solid waste management regulations.
To facilitate your quick judgment, we have compiled a simple comparison table:
| Product Type | Is it a product in the current disposal catalogue? | Key disposal points after scrapping |
|---|---|---|
| Independently sold chargers, power adapters, charging cables, power banks | No | Dispose of in accordance with local waste sorting, renewable resource recycling, and safety requirements |
| Ordinary chip-free charging cables, pure adapters, accessories given away with the whole machine | No | Subject to local renewable resource or waste sorting requirements |
| Special charging equipment for industry, base stations, built-in vehicle use, medical and scientific research | Cannot be generalized | Judge according to waste nature, industry rules, and solid waste management requirements |
There are also several easily confused boundaries to note: you cannot judge only by the interface type, nor can you take “having a fast-charging chip” as the basis for inclusion in the catalogue; local waste sorting rules may differ. For example, some places may separately collect small electronic products and waste batteries, in which case you should follow the actual requirements of your place of residence.
Who Is Responsible? 4 Types of Obligations From Brands to Individuals
Recycling is not the responsibility of a single party. For charging products, the key points that different entities need to comply with are not exactly the same, and the disposal fund, recovery rate, and recycling channel responsibilities applicable to catalogue products cannot be directly applied to all chargers, charging cables, and power banks.
The first category is producers, brand owners, importers, and sellers. When they put charging products on the Chinese market, they shall comply with applicable rules on product quality, mandatory certification, restriction of hazardous substance use, labeling, packaging, and import according to the actual product category. Only products listed in the catalogue may further involve relevant producer responsibilities and disposal support systems under the Regulations on the Administration of the Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products.
Overseas brands or cross-border sellers should not simply assume that they must appoint a “recycling responsibility agent” within China. Whether a domestic entity, importer, authorized representative, or other responsible entity is required shall be judged according to the specific sales model, import method, and applicable product rules.
The second category is sellers, including e-commerce platforms and offline stores. They shall sell products that meet the requirements of product quality, certification, labeling, and relevant standards in accordance with the law, and cooperate with platform rules or local activities to carry out trade-in, recycling promotion, and other work. The presence or absence of the “e” mark cannot be used as the sole criterion for judging whether a charging product can be sold.
The third category is recycling, transportation, and processing enterprises. Not all enterprises that collect old chargers naturally need the same “disassembly qualification” or hazardous waste business license. Enterprises shall comply with the requirements of renewable resource recycling, solid waste pollution prevention, work safety, and local management in accordance with the law; if operations involve hazardous waste identified in accordance with the law, they shall be collected, stored, transported, utilized, or disposed of by units with corresponding licenses and disposal capabilities.
During processing, specific components such as waste circuit boards may need to be disposed of in accordance with corresponding requirements, but not all cables or PVC cable sheaths can be naturally identified as hazardous waste. Recycling enterprises shall also keep necessary records of sources, quantities, and destinations to avoid disorderly disposal.
The fourth category is ordinary consumers and users. Old charging products we use up should be disposed of according to local waste sorting and recycling requirements; do not disassemble or incinerate them by yourself, especially products with batteries, swollen, damaged, or water-exposed products, as self-disassembly can easily cause dangers such as short circuits and fires.
For damaged products with batteries, it is recommended to isolate them separately, avoid squeezing and puncturing, and then hand them over in accordance with local battery recycling or safety guidelines at recycling points.
Check at a Glance: Mandatory Requirements in Recycling Rules
Among these rules, some information can be viewed directly from the product or packaging, but first you need to distinguish: the environmental mark on the product is not equal to the “mandatory recycling mark”.
The first is the hazardous substance restriction mark under China’s RoHS system. The common mark with an “e” is not the unified recycling mark stipulated in the Regulations on the Administration of the Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, but a mark related to the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products. It cannot be used to judge whether a product is in the disposal catalogue, nor can it be used as a basis for judging whether a recycling channel is formal.
The second is the former waste electrical and electronic products disposal fund. In the past, the disposal of products in the catalogue received fund support; but since January 1, 2024, the state has stopped collecting the waste electrical and electronic products disposal fund, and the original fund subsidy policy has also been suspended at the same time. Relevant disposal work is now supported by current policies such as special funds for the disposal of waste electrical and electronic products.
Moreover, chargers, charging cables, and mobile power supplies are not products in the current Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal (2014 Edition), so the original fund system cannot be directly applied to these charging accessories.
In addition to this information, there are several common product labels worth knowing:
- Environmental protection use period: a circle with a number inside, such as “10”, in units of years. It refers to the period during which, under normal use conditions, hazardous substances or elements in the product will not leak or mutate, and will not cause serious damage to the environment, personal safety, or property. It is not the product lifespan or warranty period, nor does it mean that the product must be replaced when it expires.
- China RoHS mark: relevant marks reflect information on the restriction of hazardous substance use. Mark II usually indicates that the content of hazardous substances in at least one homogeneous material of the product exceeds the limit requirement, and the product shall also provide information such as the name of the hazardous substance and the component where it is located in accordance with standards. It cannot be simply understood as “it must be safe to use within the environmental protection use period”.
- Before imported charging products are sold in China, they shall provide statutory information such as the Chinese product name, producer or importer information, qualification certificate, and warning instructions in accordance with the Product Quality Law and applicable product standards, certification, and labeling rules. Whether Chinese information can be provided by affixing labels and what specific content is required shall be confirmed according to product category rules.
If you are looking for recycling channels, you can pay attention to recycling facilities set up in communities or streets, trade-in activities at brand stores, recycling services provided by shopping malls or e-commerce platforms, and renewable resource recycling enterprises. However, there is no national unified “officially recognized” list for these channels. Whether they are actually suitable for handing over items should be verified by checking the operating entity, receiving scope, and disposal destination.
Step-by-Step Guide: The Full Process of Old Charging Products From Scrap to Recycling
Now that you know the rules, how should you deal with the old charging products in your hand specifically? Let’s explain step by step.
The first step is to first judge whether it really needs to be scrapped. If it’s just that the interface doesn’t match and you can’t use it, but the product is intact, prioritize giving it to a friend or selling it second-hand. This is reuse, which is more environmentally friendly than recycling, and is not within the scope of scrapping and recycling.
If the product has a cracked shell, exposed wire core, burnt smell, or abnormal heating during charging, you should immediately stop using it and scrap it. Never wrap it with tape and continue to use it, let alone modify the plug or interface to extend use, as it can easily cause safety risks such as electric shock and fire.
The second step is to do basic classification before scrapping, which can reduce the safety risk of recycling and improve processing efficiency:
- Products with batteries, such as power banks and wireless charging docks with built-in batteries, should be stored separately to avoid squeezing and puncturing; for swollen, damaged, water-exposed, or abnormally heated products, they should be disposed of in accordance with local battery recycling and safety guidelines;
- Products with circuit boards, such as chargers and fast-charging cables with chips, can be handed over as waste electronic accessories to local recycling channels that accept such items;
- Ordinary chip-free charging cables and pure adapters should be disposed of according to local renewable resource or waste sorting requirements;
- If the product is damaged, damp, or burned, it is best to wrap it separately in a bag and actively remind recycling personnel of possible safety risks.
The third step is to select the corresponding recycling channel. For a small number of old charging products at home, you can first check local waste sorting guidelines, community recycling services, or brand trade-in activities; if there are products with lithium batteries, you should prioritize choosing channels that clearly state they can safely accept such products, and should not directly throw them into ordinary waste containers; if it is an enterprise’s batch elimination, you can choose recycling enterprises that can explain the destination, provide handover records or disposal certificates, and keep the vouchers.
So after recycling, what will these old charging products go through? Usually, they are first classified, separating components such as shells, cables, metal parts, and circuit boards; usable materials such as copper, aluminum, and plastics may enter the recycling link; components identified as hazardous waste in accordance with the law shall be disposed of by capable units in accordance with corresponding requirements.
Small workshop practices such as open-air incineration of cables, soaking circuit boards in strong acid, and disassembly without protection not only have obvious safety and pollution risks, but may also violate relevant regulations.
Advanced Pitfall Identification: How to Judge Compliance
Now that you understand the basic rules, let’s talk about several practical judgment methods to help you avoid common pitfalls.
How Ordinary Consumers Can Judge Whether a Product Is Compliant
When buying charging products, you can make a rough judgment in two steps: first, check the product body or packaging for Chinese product information, qualification certificates, warning instructions, and applicable environmental information; second, go to the brand’s official Chinese website or official sales page to check product information and after-sales service.
The RoHS mark with “e” is not a recycling mark, nor can it alone be used as a conclusion on whether a product is compliant. Products that lack even basic Chinese information, source, and after-sales information usually have higher quality and safety risks, and it is recommended to purchase them with caution.
How Cross-Border Sellers Can Judge Compliance for Exports to China
If you are an overseas seller who wants to sell charging products to China, you must first confirm the actual product category and applicable requirements, including import rules, product quality, mandatory certification, restriction of hazardous substance use, labeling, packaging, and local recycling.
Do not treat chargers, fast-charging cables, or power banks as products in the Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal just because they contain electronic components, nor should you regard fund payment, recovery rate, recycling channel establishment, or so-called “recycling compliance declaration” as universally applicable pre-requirements for these products.
How to Judge Whether a Recycling Channel Is Formal
Whether you are an individual or an enterprise, when looking for a recycling channel, don’t just look at the “high price recycling” publicity. You can focus on these points: first, whether it publicly discloses the operating entity, address, contact information, and general disposal destination; second, whether it has reasonable safety receiving measures and instructions for products with batteries, swollen, or damaged products; third, if it is a batch handover for enterprises, whether it can provide a handover list or disposal certificate.
Requiring products with batteries to be separated from ordinary accessories is usually a good safety practice, but you cannot conclude that the channel is formal based solely on this point; conversely, the receiving methods of different channels may also vary due to local rules and facility conditions. Recycling channels that only shout high prices and do not explain the disposal method have higher risks, and may hand over items to unregulated small workshops for processing.
Whether old charging cables and chargers can be thrown into a certain type of domestic waste container shall be subject to local rules. The implementation methods of waste sorting vary from place to place, and it cannot be simply generalized that some cities will definitely impose fines while others only provide guidance. No matter where you are, reusing intact items and safely handing over damaged or battery-containing products are more reliable practices.
Exclusive for Overseas Users: Compliance Key Points for Three Types of Scenarios
Since this is for overseas users, we have specially compiled compliance key points for three high-frequency scenarios to help you avoid exclusive misconceptions.
Scenario 1: Carrying Personal Charging Products When Entering the Country
If you come to China for tourism, study, or work, and bring old chargers and power banks for your daily use, you generally do not need to bear the producer responsibility for catalogue products due to personal carrying, nor do you need to pay additional disposal funds.
But if you want to discard these old products within China, you must comply with local recycling and waste sorting rules. Products with lithium batteries, swollen, damaged, or water-exposed products should not be thrown into ordinary waste containers, and should be handed over in accordance with local safety guidelines.
Special attention: waste charging products that are actually solid waste shall not be brought into China from abroad for the purpose of entry for disposal.
Scenario 2: Selling Charging Products to China via Cross-Border E-Commerce
If you do cross-border e-commerce and sell charging products to Chinese consumers, you shall check China’s requirements on import, product quality, mandatory certification, RoHS, labeling, packaging, and transportation safety according to the actual product category.
Charging products are currently not products in the Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal (2014 Edition), so it cannot be generally required that they pay the original disposal fund, meet the catalogue recovery rate, establish recycling channels, or must appoint a “recycling responsibility agent” within China.
If it is second-hand charging products, returned products, or repaired products that need to enter the country, the key depends on the actual status of the goods. Waste charging products that are actually solid waste shall not enter the country in the name of trade, maintenance, or return; second-hand products, returned products, or repaired products that can continue to be used shall be truthfully declared and handled in accordance with customs, product access, and transportation safety regulations.
Scenario 3: Overseas Users Disposing of Old Charging Products Made in China
Many people have a misconception: “My charger is made in China, so I have to send it back to China for recycling when it breaks.” In fact, this is completely unnecessary. You should prioritize handling it according to the local rules of your country or region. Sending it back to China not only wastes shipping costs, but may also involve cross-border transportation restrictions.
If the product you bought on a cross-border platform has a merchant’s promise of “free recycling”, be sure to confirm clearly who the implementing entity is and where the recycling location is, don’t just look at the slogan.
If it is a product sent back to China for repair, return, or exchange, it cannot be considered compliant just by declaring it as “non-waste”. The goods shall be truthfully declared and meet the requirements of customs supervision, product access, and transportation safety of lithium-containing batteries.
Finally, let’s clarify several common misconceptions among overseas users:
- Chargers made in China purchased overseas do not need to be sent back to China for recycling; prioritize handling according to local rules;
- Ordinary non-smart chargers, charging cables, and most power banks usually do not store personal files, but smart, networked, app-connected, or account-bound accessories may contain information such as device identifiers, logs, and configurations; before handing over such devices, you should unbind them, clear data, or consult the recycler according to the manufacturer’s instructions;
- China’s e-waste system is not completely consistent with the EU WEEE Directive; there are differences in coverage scope and responsibility mechanisms. When exporting, you need to judge separately and cannot directly apply them universally.
Don’t Confuse: Differences From Other Environmental Rules
People who are new to this topic often confuse recycling rules with other environmental rules. Let’s briefly sort out their relationship.
The first is the difference from China RoHS. Recycling rules mainly focus on the collection, disposal, and resource utilization of products after scrapping; China RoHS focuses on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances, information disclosure, and conformity assessment of electrical and electronic products.
China RoHS does not impose the same limit requirements on all electrical and electronic products. Products included in the compliance management catalogue shall also meet the corresponding hazardous substance limits and conformity assessment requirements. For products not included in this catalogue, rules such as hazardous substance information disclosure may also apply.
The second is the relationship with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system. EPR is an environmental protection principle, which in plain terms means “whoever produces is responsible to the end”. Brands cannot only care about sales, but also pay attention to the environmental impact during the entire product life cycle.
However, it cannot be said that all charging products are subject to the fund, recovery rate, and recycling channel obligations under the Regulations on the Administration of the Recycling and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products. For charging products, relevant responsibilities shall actually be judged according to product categories and applicable rules.
The third is the difference from EU WEEE/RoHS. Both the EU WEEE and China’s waste electrical and electronic product systems involve e-waste governance, and both EU RoHS and China RoHS involve the restriction of hazardous substance use, but their product coverage scope, labeling, responsibility mechanisms, and implementation methods are not the same.
Accessories such as chargers may be covered under EU WEEE, but this does not mean that they are directly regarded as products in China’s Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal, let alone that they are subject to China’s catalogue recovery rate requirements. If your products are exported to both the EU and China, you need to check the applicable rules on both sides separately.
The fourth is the difference from second-hand trading. Recycling rules govern products that have been scrapped and entered the disposal system; second-hand trading belongs to the category of reuse, which is transferring still usable products to others for continued use, and is not within the core scope of scrapping and recycling.
Of course, prioritizing second-hand circulation of intact products is more environmentally friendly than recycling, but if products are sold after repair, they need to meet quality requirements, and unqualified defective products cannot be sold.
Final Summary
After reading this, you should already be able to independently handle many things related to charging product recycling: you know that chargers, charging cables, and power banks are not currently products in the Catalogue of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products for Disposal (2014 Edition), and you also know that this does not mean they can be discarded at will; when living in China, you can safely dispose of old charging products according to local waste sorting and recycling requirements; when encountering products with lithium batteries, swollen, damaged, or water-exposed products, you can also prioritize safe handover.
When doing cross-border business, do not incorrectly apply the fund, recovery rate, and agent requirements of catalogue products to all charging accessories; more importantly, combine the actual product category to check applicable requirements such as import, quality, certification, RoHS, labeling, packaging, and transportation.
In fact, no matter which country’s recycling rules, the core purpose is the same: to reduce pollution from e-waste and allow limited resources to be recycled. Even if you just take a broken old charger out of an inappropriate waste container and hand it over to a suitable recycling channel according to local guidelines, you are doing your part for environmental protection and safety.