Mobile phone is one of the most popular means of communication in Hong Kong. The number of mobile phone users has increased rapidly over the last decade and according to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, there are about 5.7 million mobile phone subscribers in Hong Kong by January 2002 and the number of used mobile phone batteries disposed of at our landfills is considerable.

Mobile phone batteries contain a variety of materials, such as cobalt and nickel, that can be recovered by recycling. Recycling mobile phone batteries helps reduce waste and conserve natural resources. The mobile phone industry recognised the environmental benefits of recycling mobile phone batteries and pursued the idea through a Working Group. The Working Group consists of mobile phone battery manufacturers, network service providers, distributors, Consumer Council, Environmental Protection Department and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority under the chairmanship of the Internet and Telecom Association of Hong Kong. As a result of the collaborative effort of all the Working Group members, a pilot mobile phone battery recovery and recycling programme was launched on 13 April 2002.

This pilot programme is the first recycling programme organized and funded by the industry in Hong Kong through a voluntary product responsibility scheme. Under a product responsibility scheme, the producers play a major role in the management of their end-of-life products. The government acts as the facilitator and helps to promote public participation. The consumers also have a role in returning their end-of-life products for recovery. Product responsibility scheme is one of the seven major initiatives on prevention and recycling of domestic waste announced by the Secretary for the Environment and Food in September 2001.

This pilot programme demonstrated that rechargeable battery recycling in Hong Kong is technically feasible and cost-effective. In view of this, a tripartite working group consisting of representatives from rechargeable battery and electrical/electronic equipment industry, EPD, Friends of the Earth and Green Power, was set up to plan and organize a new programme to cover all types of portable rechargeable batteries, Through the collaborative efforts of the tripartite working group, a Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme was launched on 9 April 2005.