The Collection and Recycling Systems of Used Mobile Phone in European Countries and Japan

In Japan, used mobile phones are collected through several voluntary projects. In European countries, on the other hand, used mobile phones are handled together with other electronic waste in mandatory EPR systems and municipalities collect most of them as recyclable wastes. In this study, we focused on the role of producers and municipalities. We seek to conduct a comparative analysis of current voluntary projects in Japan and mandatory systems in selected European countries to provide insights on the development of environmentally sound management and appropriate collection and recycling systems of used mobile phones.