Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China
No. 4
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Promoting the Development of a Recycling Economy, adopted at the 4th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on August 29, 2008, is hereby promulgated and shall go into effect as of January 1, 2009.
Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
August 29, 2008
Law of the People’s Republic of China on Promoting the Development of a Recycling Economy
(adopted at the 4th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on August 29, 2008)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Basic Management system
Chapter III Reduction
Chapter IV Reuse and Converting of Waste into Resources
Chapter V Incentive Measures
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I
General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purpose of promoting the development of a recycling economy, increasing the efficiency in the use of resources, protecting and improving the environment, and attaining sustainable development.
Article 2 For the purposes of this Law, the recycling economy is a general term for the activities of reduction, reuse and conversion of waste into resources, which are conducted in the processes of production, circulation, consumption, etc.
For the purposes of this Law, reduction means reducing the amount of the resources consumed and of the waste produced in the processes of production, circulation, consumption, etc.
For the purposes of this Law, reuse means direct use waste as products, or its continued use as such after repair, renovation or reproduction, or its full or partial use as components or parts of other products.
For the purposes of this Law, converting waste into resources means the direct use of waste as raw materials or its use after recycling.
Article 3 Development of a recycling economy is a major strategy of the State for economic and social development, and the principles of overall planning, rational geographical distribution, suiting measures to local conditions, laying stress on actual results, promotion by the government, guidance by market forces, implementation by enterprises and participation by the public shall be adhered to in the endeavor.
Article 4 The recycling economy shall be developed on the premise that it is technically feasible, economically rational, and good for conserving resources and protecting the environment, and under the principle of giving priority to reduction.
In the process of reusing waste and converting waste into resources, attention shall be paid to guaranteeing production safety, while ensuring that product quality meets the standards specified by the State, and preventing repeated pollution.
Article 5 The comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council shall be in charge of coordinating and regulating the work for development of the recycling economy nationwide; the department in charge of environment protection and the other relevant competent departments under the State Council shall, in compliance with their own respective duties, be in charge of regulating the work related to the recycling economy.
The comprehensive administration departments for development of the recycling economy under the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be in charge of coordinating and regulating the work for development of the recycling economy in their respective administrative areas; the departments of environment protection and other relevant competent departments of the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in compliance with their respective duties, be in charge of regulating the work related to the recycling economy.
Article 6 When formulating industrial policies, the State shall see that they meet requirements for development of the recycling economy.
When people’s governments at or above the county level draw up their plans for national economic and social development and annual plans and when the relevant departments of the said people’s governments draw up their plans for environment protection, for science and technology, etc., they shall include development of the recycling economy in the plans.
Article 7 The State encourages and supports the research, development and the popularization of science and technology related to the recycling economy, and encourages publicity and education of the recycling economy, universal dissemination of scientific knowledge about it and international cooperation in this field.
Article 8 People’s governments at or above the county level shall establish a system of responsibility for achieving the goals set for developing the recycling economy, and promote the development of such economy by making plans, adopting financial measures and making investment and through government procurement and other means.
Article 9 Enterprises and public institutions shall establish a sound management system, adopt measures to reduce consumption of resources, to reduce the amount of waste produced and discharged, and to improve the reuse of waste and raise the level at which waste is converted into resources.
Article 10 Citizens shall enhance their awareness of the importance of resource conservation and environment protection, use resources rationally and economically.
The State encourages citizens to use products and recycled products that serve to save energy, water and materials or facilitate environment protection, and gives them guidance in this respect, in order to reduce the amount of waste produced and discharged.
Citizens shall have the right to report against waste of resources and damaging of the environment, to have access to government information about the development of the recycling economy and to put forward their opinions and suggestions.
Article 11 The State encourages and supports industrial associations to play their role by providing technical guidance and services in the development of the recycling economy. People’s governments at or above the county level may entrust qualified industrial associations and other public organizations to provide public services for promoting the development of the recycling economy.
The State encourages and supports intermediaries, academic societies and other public organizations to carry out dissemination and spread the use of technologies and provide consultancy services in respect of the recycling economy in order to promote the development of such economy.
Chapter II
Basic Management system
Article 12 The comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the department of environment protection and other relevant competent departments under the State Council, formulate a national plan for development of the recycling economy, and submit the plan to the State Council for approval before having it published and implemented. The comprehensive administration departments for development of the recycling economy under the local people’s governments at or above the level of cities divided into districts shall, in conjunction with the departments of environment protection and other relevant competent departments of the people’s governments at the said level, formulate plans for developing the recycling economy in their respective administrative areas, and submit the plans to the people’s governments at the said level for approval before having them published and implemented.
The plan for development the recycling economy shall include the goals, the scope for implementation, the essential points, the major tasks and the measures for guarantee, and in the plan shall be specified the rate of resources produced, of waste reused and of waste converted into resources.
Article 13 Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, according to the control quotas on the total amounts of the main pollutants discharged and of the land used for construction and water consumption which are compiled by the people’s governments at higher levels for their respective administrative areas, make plans and adjustments in respect of industrial structure in their own administrative areas, in order to promote development of the recycling economy.
Construction projects shall be built, rebuilt or expanded in compliance with the control quotas on the total amounts of the main pollutants discharged and of the land used for construction and water consumption.
Article 14 The comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant competent departments under the State Council such as the departments of statistics and environment protection, compile a series of standards for evaluation of the recycling economy and keep improving it.
The people’s governments at higher levers shall, on the basis of the main standards for evaluation of the recycling economy mentioned in the preceding paragraph, regularly assess the efforts made by the people’s governments at lower levels in the development of the recycling economy and make the attainment of such standards by the local people’s governments and the leading persons the main points for their appraisal.
Article 15 Enterprises manufacturing products or packages which are included in the catalog for compulsory recovery shall be responsible for recovering the products or packages discharged; the manufacturers shall be responsible for making use of the ones that can be used; and they shall be responsible for making innocuous treatment of the ones that are not suited for reuse for lack of the necessary technological or financial conditions.
Where the manufacturers entrust the sellers or other organizations with the recovery of the products or packages discarded, as specified in the preceding paragraph, or entrust waste-using or waste-deposing enterprises to make use or depose of them, the entrusted parties shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations of laws and administrative regulations as well as the provisions of contracts, be responsible for recovery, use or deposition of the said products or packages.
With respect to products and packages which are included in the catalog for compulsory recovery, consumers shall deliver the ones to be discarded to the manufacturers, the sellers or other organizations entrusted by the manufacturers with the recovery.
The catalog of the products and packages for compulsory recovery and the administrative measures in this respect shall be formulated by the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council.
Article 16 The State applies a system of supervision and control over the consumption of energy and water to the key enterprises whose general consumption of energy or water annually exceeds the total amount determined by the State, namely, the enterprises in the industries such as iron and steel, nonferrous metals, coal, electric power, petroleum processing, chemical, building materials, construction, paper-making, printing and dyeing.
Supervision and control over energy conservation of the key energy consumption units shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Energy Conservation.
The measures for supervision and control over the key water consumption units shall be formulated by the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council in conjunction with the relevant departments under the same.
Article 17 The State shall establish a sound statistical system for the recycling economy, improve the statistical administration of resource consumption, comprehensive utilization and waste production, and publish the major statistical indexes to the public on a regular basis.
The competent department for standardization under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant competent departments such as the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy and the environment protection department under the same, establish a series of standards for the recycling economy and keep improving it, and formulate and improve the standards for energy, water and material conservation, waste reuse, conversion of waste into resources, etc.
The State shall establish sound systems indicating resource consumption on products, such as the system indicating energy efficiency.
Chapter III
Reduction
Article 18 The comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the environment protection department and other relevant competent departments under the same, regularly publish the different catalogs of technologies, techniques, equipment, materials and products, the use of which is to be encouraged or restricted or which are to be eliminated.
Manufacturing, importing and selling of any equipment, materials or products which are included in the catalogs for elimination are prohibited, and using of the same is prohibited.
Article 19 People engaged in the design of techniques, equipment, products and packages shall, in compliance with the requirements for reduced consumption of resources and production of waste, give priority to such materials and plans as are designed for easy recovery, break up, or degradation, or are nontoxic and harmless or are toxic and harmful to a lesser degree, and shall make sure that the techniques, equipment, products and packages conform to the compulsory requirements of the relevant State standards.
With respect to electric appliances and electronic and other products that may cause environmental pollution in the process of break up and disposition, no toxic and harmful substances the use of which is prohibited by the State shall be designed for use. The catalog of toxic and harmful substances the use of which is prohibited in electric appliances and electronic and other products shall be formulated by the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the State Council in conjunction with the environment protection department and other relevant competent departments under the same.
The packages of products shall be designed in conformity with the standards for such packages, in order to prevent waste of resources and pollution of the environment by excessive packaging.
Article 20 Industrial enterprises shall use advanced or applicable water-saving technologies, techniques and equipment, formulate and implement water-saving plans, strengthen water-saving management and exercise control over the use of water throughout the process of production.
Industrial enterprises shall tighten control over the measurement of water use, equip themselves with and use up-to-standard measuring instruments for use of water, and establish a statistical system of water consumption and an analysis system of water use.
When a construction project is built, rebuilt or expanded, supporting facilities for water saving shall be built. Such facilities shall be designed, constructed and put into use simultaneously with the main body of the project.
The State encourages people in coastal areas to carry out desalination and make direct use of seawater and supports them in this endeavor, in order to save fresh water resources.
Article 21 The State encourages enterprises to use highly efficient and oil-saving products and supports them in this respect.
Enterprises in such industries as electric power, petroleum processing, chemical, iron and steel, nonferrous metals and building materials shall, within the scopes and time limits prescribed by the State, substitute clean energy, such as clean coal, petroleum coke and natural gas, for fuel oil, and stop using fuel-oil generating units and boilers which are not up to State standards.
Enterprises manufacturing internal combustion engines and motor vehicles shall, in accordance with the standards for economical use of fuel oil set by the State in respect of internal combustion engines and motor vehicles, adopt oil-saving technologies to reduce consumption of petroleum products.
Article 22 For exploiting of mineral resources, an overall plan shall be made, plans for rational exploitation shall be formulated, and rational mining sequences, methods and dressing techniques shall be adopted. The authority for issue of the mining permit shall, in accordance with law, examine the quotas for the recovery rate and dilution rate of mining, the recovery rate of ore-dressing, the rate of recycled water in mines, the rate of land reclaimed and other quotas which are included in the plan for exploitation submitted by an applicant. If the application fails to pass the examination, the said authority shall not issue the mining license. The authority for issue of the mining license shall, in accordance with law, exercise strict supervision and control over the exploitation of mineral resources.
When exploiting essential minerals, mining enterprises shall, at the same time, conduct comprehensive mining and make rational use of the paragenetic or associated minerals that are of industrial value; they shall adopt protective measures in respect of ores that must be extracted simultaneously but cannot be used right away and tailings that contain useful components, in order to prevent loss of resources and damage to ecology.
Article 23 Architectural design units, developers, and construction units shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations and standards of the State, use technologies and techniques that serve to save energy, water, land, and materials, as well as small, light and recycled products for buildings and structures which they design, develop or construct. Where conditions permit, solar, geothermal, wind and other renewable energy resources shall fully be used.
The State encourages the use of nontoxic and harmless solid waste in the manufacture of construction materials, and the use of bulk cement, and promotes the wide use of ready-mixed concrete and mortar.
Bake of bricks by damaging or destroying cultivated land is prohibited. Manufacturing, selling, or using clay bricks within the time limits or areas specified by the State Council or the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government is prohibited.
Article 24 People’s governments at or above the county level and the competent departments of agriculture and other competent departments under them shall, promote intensive use of land, encourage and support agricultural producers to adopt advanced water-saving, fertilizer-saving and pesticide-saving technologies for cultivation, animal breeding and irrigation, promote the use of energy-saving agricultural machinery and give priority to the development of ecological agriculture.
In water-deficient areas, attention shall be paid to adjusting the pattern of cultivation, giving priority to the development of water-saving farming, promoting storing of rainwater for use, building and maintaining water-saving facilities for irrigation, in order to increase the water use efficiency and reduce the evaporation and leaking of water.
Article 25 State organs and other organizations which draw funds from the government shall practice strict economy and eliminate waste, take the lead in using energy-, water-, land-, and material-saving and environment-friendly products, equipment and facilities, and use office supplies economically. The offices administering the affairs of the State Council and the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the said people’s governments, establish quotas for energy and water consumption for the State organs and other organizations at the same level, and the finance departments shall, on the basis of the said quotas, set the standards for expenditure.
The people’s governments of cities as well as the owners and users of buildings shall take measures to better maintain and manage the buildings, in order to prolong their service life. With regard to the buildings that conform to urban planning, meet the standards for project construction and are within their rational service life, the said people’s governments shall not decide to demolish them, unless for public benefits.
Article 26 The catering and entertainment businesses, and hotels and other service enterprises shall use energy-, water- or material-saving and environment-friendly products and refrain from using or decrease the use of products which waste resources and pollute the environment.
Energy-, water- and material-saving and environment-friendly technologies, equipment and facilities shall be used by the catering and entertainment businesses, hotels and other service enterprises which are to be built after the implementation of this Law.
Article 27 The State encourages and supports the use of recycled water. In areas where conditions permit the use of recycled water, using of tap water for cleaning urban streets, watering urban grass and trees, or preserving the landscape shall be restricted or prohibited.
Article 28 On the premise of guaranteed product safety and hygiene, the State shall restrict the manufacture and sale of disposable consumer goods. The specific catalog thereof shall be formulated by the comprehensive administration department for the recycling economic development under the State Council in conjunction with the finance department, the department of environment protection and other competent departments under the same.
Restrictive taxation and export measures in respect of the manufacture and sale of the disposable consumer goods which are included in the catalog mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be introduced by the finance department, the tax authority, the department in charge of foreign trade and other competent departments under the State Council.
Chapter IV
Reuse and Converting of Waste into Resources
Article 29 People’s governments at or above the county level shall, make overall plans for the geographical distribution of the regional economic sectors, rationally adjust their industrial structures, help the enterprises to cooperate in comprehensive use of resources and in other areas, in order to bring about the high efficiency in the use of resources and recycled use of resources.
The authorities of the different types of industrial gardens shall make arrangements for the enterprises there to make comprehensive use of resources, in order to promote the development of the recycling economy.
The State encourages enterprises in different types of industrial gardens to exchange their waste for use, make gradient use of energy, intensive use of land, classified utilization and recycled use of water, and make joint use of the infrastructure and the relevant facilities.
Where different types of industrial gardens are to be built or rebuilt, assessment of the impact on the environment shall be made in accordance with law, and measures shall be adopted to protect ecology and control pollution, in order to ensure that the environment quality of the areas concerned meets the set standards.
Article 30 Enterprises shall, in accordance with State regulations, make comprehensive use of industrial waste such as fly ash, gangue, tailings, ettle, waste material and gaseous waste, which are discharged in the process of production.
Article 31 Enterprises shall develop a series or recycling system for water use in order to increase the rate of repeated use of water.
Enterprises shall adopt advanced technologies, techniques and equipment to recycle waste water which is discharged in the process of production.
Article 32 Enterprises shall adopt advanced or applicable technologies, techniques and equipment for recovery in order to make comprehensive use of residual heat, pressure, etc. discharged in the process of production.
Construction of projects for merging and synchronizing grids for power to be generated with residual heat or pressure, coalbed methane, or fuels of low heat value, such as gangue, slurry and garbage, shall be subject to administrative permission or the matter shall be submitted for the record, as is required by law and the regulations of the State Council. Power grid enterprises shall, in accordance with State regulations, sign grid merging and synchronizing agreements with the enterprises that generate power through comprehensive use of resources, provide them with grid merging and synchronizing services and buy the entire quantity of power generated by the projects for merged and synchronized grids.
Article 33 Developers shall make comprehensive use of the waste produced in the process of construction of projects; if a developer does not meet the conditions for making such use of the waste, it shall entrust the producers or business operators that meet the conditions with the comprehensive use or innocuous treatment of the said waste.
Article 34 The State encourages and supports agricultural producers and the relevant enterprises to adopt advanced or applicable technologies for comprehensive use of the stalks of crops, faeces of livestock and poultry, by-products of the agricultural products processing industry, waste agricultural thin-film, etc., in order to exploit methane and other biological energy resources.
Article 35 People’s governments at or above the county level and their competent forestry departments shall proactively develop ecological forestry, encourage and support forest planters and the relevant enterprises to adopt technologies for conservation and substitution of timber, make comprehensive use of forest waste, sub-standard and small pieces of firewood, desert-shrubs, etc., in order to increase the efficiency of comprehensive use of timber.
Article 36 The State supports producers and business operators to establish an information system for exchange of industrial waste, in order to facilitate the exchange of information about industrial waste among enterprises.
If an enterprise does not have the conditions for making comprehensive use of waste discharged in the process of production, it shall provide the producers or business operators that meet the conditions with such waste for the purpose.
Article 37 The State encourages and promote the establishment of a network for waste recovery.
Local people’s governments shall, in accordance with urban or rural plans, make a rational geographical distribution of the waste recovery networks and markets for wastes, and support waste recovery enterprises and other organizations in their efforts to collect, store and transport waste and to exchange information in this respect.
Waste recovery markets shall conform with State regulations on environment protection, safety and fire prevention.
Article 38 Waste electric appliances and electronic products, scrapped automobiles and vessels, waste tires, waste lead-acid batteries and other special products shall be dismantled or reused in conformity with the relevant provisions of laws and administrative regulations.
Article 39 Recovered electric appliances and electronic products to be sold after repair shall conform with the standards for products to be reused, and the labels of products for reuse shall be attached to them at noticeable places.
Recovered electric appliances and electronic products, which need to be dismantled or recycled, shall be delivered or sold to enterprises that have the conditions for dismantling.
Articled 40 The State supports enterprises in remanufacturing products, such as components and parts of motor vehicles, engineering machineries and machine tools, and in retreading tires.
The quality of the remanufactured or retreaded products on sale shall conform with the standards set by the State, and the labels of remanufactured or retreaded products shall be attached to them at noticeable places.
Article 41 People’s governments at or above the county level shall make overall plans for construction of the facilities for classified collection of urban and rural household waste and converting it into resources and establish and improve the networks for classified collection of waste and its conversion into resources for use, in order to increase the rate of conversion of household waste into resources.
People’s governments at or above the county level shall support enterprises in constructing facilities for converting sludge into resources and for its disposition, in order to raise the level of its comprehensive use and prevent repeated pollution.
Chapter V
Incentive Measures
Article 42 The State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall set up special funds related to the development of the recycling economy, in order to support the scientific and technological research in and the development of such economy, the demonstration and wide use of the technologies and products for the economy, the construction of the major projects for the recycling economy and the expansion of information services for the economy. The specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the finance department under the State Council in conjunction with the comprehensive administration department for development of the economy and other relevant competent departments under the same.
Article 43 The State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and the relevant departments under them shall include the independently-innovative research in, demonstration for application of and industrial development of the projects designed to tackle major scientific and technological problems in respect of the recycling economy in the plans of the State or the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government for scientific and technological development and for the development of high-tech industries, and allocate government funds for their support.
Plans for assimilation, absorption and innovation of the key technologies and equipment for development of the recycling economy to be imported with government funds shall be formulated and submitted to the relevant competent departments for examination and approval, which shall supervise their implementation; the said departments shall, in light of actual need, establish a mechanism for coordination to ensure overall coordination of the efforts to import key technologies and equipment and to assimilate, absorb and innovate them, and allocate funds in support of such efforts.
Article 44 The State shall apply preferential tax policies to industrial activities undertaken to promote the development of the recycling economy, adopt tax and other measures to encourage the import of advanced energy-, water- or material-saving technologies, equipment and products, and to restrict the export of products that consume excessive quantities of energy and cause serious pollution in the process of production. The specific measures in this respect shall be formulated by the finance department and the tax authority under the State Council.
Enterprises that use or manufacture the technologies, techniques, equipment or products included in the catalogs of the State for encouraged cleaner production, comprehensive use of resources, etc. shall enjoy preferential tax policies in accordance with relevant State regulations.
Article 45 When formulating and implementing investment plans, the comprehensive administration departments for development of the recycling economy under the people’s governments at or above the county level shall make the projects designed to save energy, water, land or materials, the projects for comprehensive use of resources, etc. key projects for investment.
To those projects designed to save energy, water, land or materials and those projects for comprehensive use of resources, etc., which conform with the industrial policies of the State, financial institutions shall give priority in terms of loans and other support in the form of credit and proactively provide the necessary financial services.
With respect to those enterprises that manufacture, import, sell, or use the technologies, techniques, equipment, materials or products which are included in the catalogs for elimination, financial institutions shall not provide them with any form of credit support.
Article 46 The State shall adopt pricing policies that will facilitate the conservation and rational use of resources and serve as a guide to units and individuals in their conservation and rational use of the products in the nature of resources, such as water, electricity and gas.
The competent pricing departments of the State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in accordance with the industrial policies of the State, adopt restrictive pricing policies in respect of the restricted types of industrial projects that consume excessive quantities of resources.
With respect to the projects for merged and synchronized grids which generate power with residual heat and pressure, coalbed methane, or fuels of low heat value such as gangue, slurry and garbage, the pricing departments shall, under the principle of benefiting the comprehensive use of resources, determine the price of power so generated.
People’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in light of the economic and social development of their administrative areas, implement a system for paid discharge of garbage. The fees collected shall exclusively be used for classifying, collecting, transporting, storing, utilizing, and disposing of garbage, and they shall not be used for other purposes.
The State encourages the recovery of waste through exchanging the old for the new, paying a deposit, or by other means.
Article 47 The State shall implement government procurement policies to benefit the development of the recycling economy. Where a unit makes purchases with government funds, it shall give first priority to products that serve to save energy, water, or materials and protect the environment and to recycled products.
Article 48 People’s governments at or above the county level and the relevant departments under them shall commend and reward units and individuals that achieve outstanding successes in management of the recycling economy, in scientific and technological research in the economy, and in development, demonstration and wide use of relevant products.
Enterprises and public institutions shall commend and reward units and individuals that make noticeable contributions to development of the recycling economy.
Chapter VI
Legal Liability
Article 49 Where the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy or the relevant competent department of a people’s government at or above the county level fails to investigate and handle illegal acts after finding any violations of this Law or receiving relevant reports, or fails to perform its other duties of supervision according to law, the people’s government or the competent department of the people’s government at the next higher level shall order it to rectify and, according to law, give sanctions to the principal leading person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible.
Article 50 Where a unit manufactures or sells any products or equipment included in the catalog for elimination, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Product Quality.
Where a unit uses any technologies, techniques, equipment or materials included in the catalog for elimination, the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to stop using them, confiscate the equipment and materials used illegally, and impose on it a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the people’s government at or above the county level shall put forward its opinions requesting the people’s government at the same level to, within the limits of its authority prescribed by the State Council, order it to suspend operation or close down.
Where a unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, imports any equipment, materials or products included in the catalog for elimination, the customs shall order it to have such equipment, materials or products transported back and may impose on it a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 1,000,000 yuan; if the importer cannot be identified, the carrier shall bear the responsibility for transporting them back or pay the expenses for their disposition.
Article 51 Where in respect of the electric appliances, electronic products and other products that may cause environmental pollution in the process of dismantling or disposition, a unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, designs to use toxic and harmful substances included in the catalog of substances the use of which is prohibited by the State, the department for supervision of product quality under the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to rectify within a time limit; if the unit fails to rectify at the expiration of the time limit, a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan shall be imposed on it; if the circumstances are serious, the department for supervision of product quality under the local people’s government at or above the county level shall inform the administration department for industry and commerce at the same level of the matter, which shall revoke its business license in accordance with law.
Article 52 Where an electric power, petroleum processing, chemicals, iron and steel, nonferrous metals or building materials enterprise, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to stop using the fuel-generating units or boilers, which do not conform with State regulations, within the prescribed scope and time limit, the comprehensive administration department for development of the recycling economy under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to rectify within a time limit; if it fails to rectify at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be ordered to demolish the said units or boilers and shall, in addition, be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.
Article 53 Where a mining enterprise, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to attain the rate of recovery and impoverishment in mining, the rate of recovery in ore-dressing, the rate of water recycled in mines, the rate of land reclamation, etc., which are examined and determined according to law, the department in charge of geology and mineral resources under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to rectify within a time limit and impose on it a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if it fails to rectify at the expiration of the time limit, its mining license shall be revoked in accordance with law by the authority that issued the license.
Article 54 Where a unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, makes, sells or uses clay bricks within the time limit or areas, when and where the making, sale and use of which is prohibited by the State Council or the people’s government of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, the department designated by the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to rectify within a time limit; its illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated; if it continues to make or sell such bricks at the expiration of the time limit, the administration department for industry and commerce under the local people’s government shall revoke its business license in accordance with law.
Article 55 Where a power grid enterprise, in violation of the provisions of this Law, refuses to buy the electricity which is generated by enterprises through the use of residual heat and residual pressure, coalbed methane, and fuels of low heat value such as gangue, slurry and garbage, the electricity regulatory authority of the State shall order it to rectify within a time limit; if losses are caused to the said enterprises, it shall bear the liability for compensation in accordance with law.
Article 56 Where a unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, commits one of the following acts, the administration department for industry and commerce under the local people’s government shall order it to rectify within a time limit, and may impose on it a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan; if it fails to rectify at the expiration of the time limit, its business license shall be revoked according to law; and if losses are caused, it shall bear the liability for compensation in accordance with law:
(1) selling electric appliances or electronic products for reuse without labels indicating that they are products for reuse; or
(2) selling remanufactured or retreaded products without labels indicating that they are remanufactured or retreaded products.
Article 57 Where a violation of the provisions of this Law constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Chapter VII
Supplementary Provisions
Article 58 This Law shall go into effect as of January 1, 2009.