The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) launched the FY 2009 Demonstration Program for the Promotion of Used Mobile Phone Collection (“Tansu Keitai Atsumetai ＼(^o^)／” campaign) on November 21, 2009. The collection of used mobile phones under this program ended at the end of February this year.

The results of collection (final figures) and the program’s income and expenditure structure are hereby released. Further information is available in the Appendix.

1. Results of used mobile phone collection

The number of used mobile phones collected across Japan from November 21, 2009 to February 28, 2010, was 569,464 (final figure). These mobile phones were collected at 1,886 stores, and the average number of collected handsets per store a day was 3.02. For each acceptance, 2.12 handsets were received on average. We would like to express sincere gratitude to all those who cooperated in this collection campaign.

2. Evaluation of incentive effect

A same-store comparison of the number of collected handsets was performed with regard to three mass merchandisers that had collected used mobile phones during the same period a year ago and counted those handsets. The results indicated that many more handsets (3.9 to 36.4 times greater in number) were collected during the campaign than in the year-ago period.

3. The program’s income and expenditure structure

The program earned 138 yen per handset collected in terms of the value of metal resources (trade prices taking account of the yield, etc.). Expenditures estimated under certain conditions were 661.7 yen per handset, which is the assumed cost of collection and disposal.

Incentive-related expenses (payments for gift certificates, planning and operation costs, etc.) accounted for about 85% (560.0 yen per handset) of the above collection and disposal cost. Without these expenses, the collection and disposal cost would have been 101.7 yen per handset, which translates into a gain of 36.3 yen per handset on metal sale.

4. Discussion on the possibility of continuing the program

This demonstration program ran only for 100 days due to constraints of the supplementary budget. Estimates under certain conditions show that if it had been a one-year program, about 10.85 million handsets would have to be collected to exceed the break-even point. This volume of collection would have needed the participation of 9,836 stores, which account for a little less than 80% of about 13,000 existing mobile phone stores. At least, this collection simulation yielded positive results for the possibility of continuing the program.

However, before the full-scale introduction of an incentive-based collection program, it is essential to improve the accuracy of the conditions assumed for the simulation. In addition, further discussions and studies are needed on the outlook of metal market prices during the program period, incentive effects of a one-year program, collection-related income and expenditure expected at stores that did not participate in the demonstration program, and incentive effects on these stores.

To further promote the collection and recycling of used mobile phones, METI will work with parties concerned to search for effective collection promotion measures that would encourage consumers to take an active part in collection.

Reference

Collection Results and Income and Expenditure Structure of the FY 2009 Demonstration Program for the Promotion of Used Mobile Phone Collection (PDF:373KB) Updated on July 5, 2010

June 22, 2010

Environmental Affairs and Recycling Office, Information and Communication Electronics Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau