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Proper Management of Mercury-including Products
Misuzu ASARI*
Kyoto University Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies
Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan*E-mail: mezase530@gmail.com

Abstract
Mercury has been used in a wide range of products: batteries, lighting appliances, measuring devices andmore. In compliance with the Minamata Convention on Mercury, efforts have been made for the productionof mercury-free alternatives, but some mercury-containing products will continue to be used in the future.
Appropriate management of used mercury-containing products will continue to be indispensable. Attention
and inventiveness are demanded at each stage of the management flow process, which includes discharging,collecting, transporting, storing during transshipment, intermediate processing, final disposal and recycling.
Therefore mercury-containing products discharged from households should be separated from and not bemixed with other wastes. In Japan, municipalities have their respective collection methods: receiving wastes
at fixed collection bases, mobile collection bases, etc., sometimes combining several methods. Regarding
wastes discharged from companies, criteria have been defined for each stage of the process from storage todisposal according to the categories specified by law, and the waste is disposed of in accordance with thosecriteria. As a future task, the collection rate of mercury-containing products in Japan must be raised. In many
developing countries where the separation of waste has just begun, priority should be put on coping withhazardous substances, as well as separation and appropriate disposal of mercury-containing waste, a typicalexample, should be promoted.
Key words :	battery, collection, lamp, municipal solid waste (MSW), waste management

1. Mercury-containing Products
Mercury is the only metal that is fluid at ordinary
temperatures and pressures. It has a history of a variety ofuses. As shown in Fig. 1, it is estimated that 1,480 tonnes/
year of mercury, a third of the global mercury demand, isused in products. Table 1 shows that mercury is used inbatteries, dental amalgam, measuring devices, lamps,
electrical and electronic products, and that those products
are found everywhere in life and industry. It should be
noted that although there is an increasing trend in the
demand for mercury globally, the demand for mercury

Fig. 1 Global mercury supply and demand, 2015 (United Nations Environment Programme, 2017).
Global Environmental Research
24/2020: 053-058
printed in Japan

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Table 1 Global mercury consumption by sector (United Nations Environment Programme, 2017).

lamps for liquid crystal displays*, soaps andcosmetics*, agricultural chemicals, pesticides, and local
disinfectants, non-electrified measuring devices(barometers, hygrometers, manometers, clinicalthermometers, sphygmomanometers)*, etc. However,the phase-out date can be extended for up to a
maximum of 10 years depending on the respective
countries’ needs,
・reduce the use of mercury in dental amalgams,
・control the inclusion of banned mercury-containing
products in products, control the manufacture and saleof new products in which mercury is used, and provide
Fig. 2 Trend in mercury amount per fluorescent lamp (mg-Hg/lamp).
the Secretariat with information on mercury-containing
products listed in Annex A.
has decreased significantly in Japan due to reduction of
the amount of mercury used in products and industrial
processes and use of mercury-free materials (Asari et. al.,2008). As a typical example of reduction in Japan, Fig. 2
shows changes in the amount of mercury contained influorescent lamps (Japan Lighting Manufacturers
Association, 2018).

2. Measures for Mercury-containing Products
in Compliance with the Minamata
Convention on Mercury
The Minamata Convention on Mercury requires that
mercury-containing products be appropriately managed
throughout each product’s lifecycle. This is summarized
as follows:
Mercury-containing products (Articles 4 and 6)
In principle, each Party to the Convention shall・ban by 2020 the manufacture, export and import ofmercury-containing products (Annex A *with certain
exceptions) including batteries*, switches and relays*,
fluorescent lamps for general lighting that contain morethan a certain amount of mercury*, high pressure
mercury lamps for general lighting, cold cathodefluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent

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Efforts for reducing or eliminating the use of
mercury should be made as stated above. However, somecountries/regions will continue to use mercury-containing
products and some mercury-containing products willcontinue to be in use generally (*with certain exceptions).
Used product stocks will continue to be discharged.
Consequently, appropriate separation and disposal will
become indispensable. This paper focuses on how usedmercury-containing products are managed in Japan.
In Japan, to promote accurate, smooth management
in compliance with the Minamata Convention on
Mercury, the Act on Preventing Environmental Pollutionof Mercury (Mercury Pollution Prevention Act) wasestablished in 2015, with related laws being revised. For
example, regarding mercury-containing products andindustrial waste from products that use mercury, agovernment ordinance was published to make partial
amendments to the Act on Implementing the Waste
Disposal Law in November 2015, and put into force in
October 2017. The guidelines on mercury waste were
published, summarizing specified applicable products
and measures.
To ensure that mercury-containing products will beappropriately separated and discharged, it must be easy todetermine if products contain mercury. The Mercury

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Proper management of mercury including products
Pollution Prevention Act prescribes that manufacturers
and importers shall endeavor to make information on theuse of mercury in mercury-containing products available
through labelling. “Guidelines for Providing Information
by Labelling to Ensure Appropriate Separation andDischarge of Mercury-Containing Products” waspublished to explain desirable methods of making thisinformation available and facilitate its availability. In
accordance with the Guidelines, some industry groups
have prepared their own guidelines for making thisinformation available in labelling.

3.	Mercury-containing Products Discharged
from Households
The Mercury Pollution Prevention Act prescribes
roles as below for the appropriate disposal of mercury-① How to discharge
from households② How to collectcontaining products discharged from households.
(Ministry of the Environment, 2015)
・Local municipalities shall make efforts to take measuresrequired for the appropriate collection of mercurycontaining products discharged in their district,according to their respective economic and social
conditions.
・The national government shall make efforts to givetechnical advice and take measures necessary for local
municipalities to appropriately collect mercurycontaining products.
The main products discharged from households inJapan are expected to include fluorescent tubes, button
cells, clinical mercury thermometers, mercury
manometers and others. Keeping in mind the points ateach stage of the process as Fig. 3 shows, municipalities
are to create methods of collection and disposal suitable

・Discharge the waste without breakage.
・Separate the waste without mixing it with other wastes.
・Make it clear that the waste should not be discharged as burnable waste.
・Disseminate to residents information on how to discharge the waste.
・Collect the waste without mixing it with other wastes.
・Based on current waste collection methods, choose eﬃcient collection methods.
E.g., collection stations, collection bases, entrusted collection bases, mobile
collection bases, and collection at stores③ How to transport

・To prevent mercury from scattering or ﬂowing out, take care not to break the waste.
・Separate and transport the waste without mixing it with other wastes.

④ How to store during

・Take adequate measures not to damage the waste during transshipment.
・Take measures to protect the storage site from rain water inﬁltration.
・Store the waste separated from other wastes without mixing them up.

transshipment⑤ Intermediate
processing, ﬁnal
disposal and recycling⑥ How to disseminate
information toresidents⑦ How to cope withdamaged products

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・Do not incinerate separated and collected mercury-containing waste products.
・In intermediate/ﬁnal disposal, dispose of the waste appropriately so that the
mercury does not scatter or ﬂow out into the environment.
・When disposing of the waste or outsourcing its disposal, be sure to havefacilities and equipment that enable infallible disposal, and ensure
appropriate disposal of the waste without scatter or outﬂow of mercury into
the environment.
・Exchange a contract stipulating items for ensuring appropriate disposal with
operators.
・Disseminate correct knowledge of mercuryʼs adverse eﬀects on theenvironment and human health to residents so that mercury-containing
waste can be appropriately handled.
・Disseminate information to residents on how to deal with mercurycontaining waste products when breakage of the waste occurs in households.

Fig. 3 Flowchart of discharge to processing/disposal of mercury-containing products and summary of measures at each stage of the process(Ministry of the Environment, 2015; slightly modified by the author).

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Fig. 4 A mobile collection base in Kyoto.

to their respective districts.
Kyoto, for example, is adopting management
methods with the following features:・Applicable products: fluorescent tubes, dry batteries,
button cells, clinical mercury thermometers, mercury
manometers (separated according to product category)・Collection Method 1: waste collection bases (theKamigyo Recycle Station, “Ecotown (ekomachi)
Stations” (environment consultation counters at ward
offices), and “Town Beautification Offices” set up ineight locations in the city)・Collection Method 2: mobile collection bases (Fig. 4)
set up, with city staff going out and collecting
recyclable garbage, and temporary collection ofrecyclable garbage
・Collection Method 3: fluorescent tubes collected atelectronic appliances stores cooperating with themunicipal government in collecting the waste
・Disposal: outsourcing disposal to private business
operators
Many disused clinical mercury thermometers,
mercury manometers, etc. are thought to be kept inhouseholds (Asari et al., 2011). An effective way tocollect those products in as short a time as possible wouldbe, for example, to implement a collection campaign.

4.	
Mercury-containing Products Discharged
from Companies
In compliance with the Minamata Convention on
Mercury, new measures are required for industrial wasteconsisting of mercury-containing products, mercurycontaining particulate matters and waste mercury, in
addition to specially controlled industrial waste(discharged from certain facilities in which the mercury
elution amount exceeds criteria). Table 2 gives an
overview.

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5. Forthcoming Challenges
As a forthcoming challenge, the collection rate of
mercury-containing products must be raised in Japan as it
has elsewhere. To meet these requirements, it will benecessary to make more efforts to disseminate
information to residents and consider effective collection
methods. Since public awareness in Japan remains low, it
will be necessary to carry out campaigns effectively thatcombine awareness-raising and collection of mercurycontaining products. In Taiwan, they collect about 90
percent of fluorescent tubes and have achieved thehighest collection rate in the world. Under the concept ofextended producer responsibility (EPR), a collection
recycling tax is imposed on manufacturers and importers,
and the tax revenues are used to promote recycling. The
amount of subsidies for collecting and recycling which
are paid to recycling companies is determined according
to the collection rate, enhancing motivation for collection.
Recycling companies buy collected products fromcollecting companies according to the quantity andcondition of the collected products. Recycling companies
try to buy as many collected products in good conditionas possible. This system works well. Local governments
collect wastes according to a unique method. In Taipei,
for example, as seen in Fig. 5, several waste collection
vehicles go to the waste collection bases in the city
almost every weekday. Those vehicles have the functionof separating the wastes. One vehicle collects burnablewaste, and the other has a kitchen garbage box andhazardous waste box, so that the residents can easily sort
wastes.
Many developing countries, in particular, have juststarted separating waste. Priority should be put on
measures against hazardous wastes, and the separation
and appropriate disposal of mercury-containing waste
should be promoted. In the UNEP Global Mercury

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Table 2 Overview of management of mercury-related products and waste discharged by companies. (Ministry of the Environment, 2017)
Category

Applicable matters(Newly) required measures

Industrial
waste
consistingof mercurycontaining
products

Mercury-containing
・Operation license, outsourcing contract, manifest, signboards at waste storage sites, andproducts that have become
ledgers【A】
industrial waste (excluding ・Storage: Take measures, such as establishing partitions and not mixing the waste withcertain products for which
other wastes.
that cannot be determined) ・Outsourcing disposal: Outsource collection, transportation or disposal of the waste tobusiness operators licensed to perform operation of the applicable matters. Whenoutsourcing disposal of waste from which mercury is to be collected, outsource theoperation to business operators capable of collecting mercury.【B】
・Collection and transportation: Collect and transport the waste, causing no damage to thewaste and separate from other wastes without mixing with them.
・Disposal and recycling: Take necessary measures to prevent mercury or mercury
compounds from escaping into the air. Regarding matter from which mercury is to becollected, the mercury shall be collected using a mercury separation method after roasting
it in a roasting facility or taking measures to prevent the mercury from being released into
the air.【C】Do not dispose of the waste in least-controlled final landfill sites.

Mercurycontaining
particulatematters,etc.

Particulate matters, cinders, ・Same as in【A】【B】【C】abovesludge, slag, waste acids
and waste alkalis with amercury content exceeds a
specified amount (15 mg/
kg, 15 mg/L)*

Mercurycontaining
specially
controlledindustrial
waste

Particulate matters, sludge, ・Same as in【A】【C】aboveslag, waste acids and waste
alkalis that are discharged
from specified facilities
and whose elution amountexceeds 0.005 mg/L*

Waste
mercury①Waste mercury or waste ・Storage and transshipment: Take measures: ① to prevent mercury from scattering, flowing
mercury compounds
out or vaporizing, ② to keep mercury away from high temperatures, and ③ to protect
generated in specified
mercury from corrosion.
facilities
・Outsourcing disposal: Outsource disposal to business operators licensed to collect,transport or dispose of “waste mercury.” The term “waste mercury” shall be specified in②Waste mercury collectedfrom mercury-containing
the outsourcing contract and in the waste type field in the manifest.
items or products using ・Collection and transportation: Waste mercury must be contained in (airtight, easy to store,
mercury that haveand hard to damage) transportation containers for collection and transportation.
become waste・Intermediate processing: When waste mercury is disposed of in a landfill, raise the purityof the mercury prior to sulfurizing it with sulfur powder and solidifying it with modified
sulfur at a licensed sulfurization facility in an industrial waste disposal facility.
・Final disposal: When the solidified material (processed waste mercury) does not meet thecriteria (with mercury content < 0.005mg/L in elution test) results), the waste shall bedisposed of at an isolated final disposal site. When it meets the criteria, the waste shall bedisposed of at a controlled final disposal site with additional measures taken.

*Products with a mercury content of greater than 1,000 mg/kg or 1,000 mg/L shall be collected.

Truck forrecyclables

Compactor
for burnable

Box for foodwaste

Partnership (https://web.unep.org/globalmercurypartnership/),
Japan has been leading activities in the Waste
Management Area. The present situation needs to beunderstood in developing countries and educational
programs developed, including on good practices to beshared in the future. Needless to say, even if the waste
products can be collected, it will be necessary to establish
systems for collecting mercury from the products and forproper disposal. Institutionalization and cooperation of
stakeholders will be required to construct a management
system that covers the entire lifecycle.

Fig. 5 Household garbage collection in Taipei.

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References
Asari, M., Fukui, K. and Sakai, S. (2008) Life-cycle flow of
mercury and recycling scenario of fluorescent lamps in Japan.
Science of the Total Environment, 393, 1‒10.
Japan Lighting Manufacturers Association (2018) Q & A Book for
Fluorescent Lamps and Used Ones. Retrieved from https://www.
jlma.or.jp/tisiki/pdf/environment05.pdf (Accessed 30 May 2020)
Asari, M., Yamashita, M. and Sakai, S. (2011) Home-Visiting
Survey to Understand the Present Situation of Household
Hazardous Waste (Products) kept at homes. The 22nd meetingfor research presentation of the Japan Society of Material Cycles
and Waste Management.
Ministry of the Environment, Japan (2015) The Guidelines on the
Separation and Collection of Mercury-Containing Products
Discharged from Households. Retrieved from https://www.env.
go.jp/recycle/waste/mercury-disposal/h2712_guide1.pdf (Accessed
3 January 2020)
Ministry of the Environment, Japan (2017) New Measures are
Required for the Appropriate Disposal of Mercury Waste.
Retrieved from http://www.env.go.jp/recycle/waste/mercurydisposal/H2906_setsumei_01.pdf (Accessed 3 January 2020)
United Nations Environment Programme (2017) Global Mercury
Supply, Trade and Demand. UN Environment - Economy
Division. Retrieved from https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/
handle/20.500.11822/21725/global_mercury.pdf?sequence=1&(Accessed 3 January 2020)

Misuzu ASARI
Misuzu Asari has developed research, educationand social contribution activities widely, mainlyin the fields of the SDGs, waste management,
establishment of a sound material-cycle society,and environmental education. Her official
affiliation is Kyoto University, where she gives
lectures and supervises students. She plays aleadership role in campus-wide international cooperation, social
contribution and environmental management activities. She established the
Kyoto “beyond” SDGs Consortium with cooperation among industry,
academia and government, and has started to work on constructing asustainable community in Kyoto and examining it from both soft and hard
aspects in a practical manner.
(Received 14 January 2020, Accepted 9 June 2020)

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