In order to promote the strength of competition of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling industry in Taiwan, it is important to improve the process and factory management efficiency of the EPA-subsidized organizations. The main purpose of this study was to draw up a rating system to evaluate the performance of WEEE treatment plants currently under the subsidization of the Taiwan EPA. Through the economic incentive of the rating system, the subsidized institutes will be motivated to improve the operation efficiency, including treatment process and factory management. The first part of this study was to establish feasible rating indicators for the rating system, which are suitable for the recycling industry in Taiwan. The primitive rating indicators were established and evaluated based on the environmental performance indicators collected from domestic and foreign resources. All the indicators will serve to improve the performance of WEEE treatment plants under the guidelines set by EPA Taiwan. The indicators were then presented to a consulting committee, which was consisted of experts and scholars in related fields, for advisory in order to improve the appropriateness of the indicators. The indicators can be categorized into five major dimensions, namely environment protection, management system, the financial preformance, technology achievement and social responsibility. The finalized rating indicators include 43 items, by which the performances of subsidized institutes can be divided into four levels (from A~D level). The second task of this study was work-site counseling and evaluation for. the 15 subsidized WEEE treatment plants. Based on the proposed indicators, 10 subsidized institutes were evaluated to be Class B, and 5 institutes were Class C. All the questions and suggestions provided by the evaluation experts were compiled and analyzed. The compliance of the evaluation results by the institutes were monitored and traced. The third part of this study was to estimate rate of management disposal fees under the new rating system, by considering the balance of subsidies fund. The proposed rate are as the following. For Class B, the subsidized fee will maintain at current rate. For Class C, the subsidized fee will be reduced. For Class A, to the fee will be raised. For Class D, the institutes will receive zero fee. Accordingly, the adjusted rate for Class C and A waste electrical appliances treatment institute is 81.70% and 130.96% of the current rate, respectively. For the waste electronic appliances treatment institute, the adjusted rate for Class C and A is 92.10% and 113.74% of the current, respectively. The final parts of this project was to assess the treatment process guidelines and identify the directions of technology improvement of WEEE treatment plants. Based on the proposed rating system, suggestions were made to provide the EPA with suitable information for future implementation of rate system. In addition, the guidelines will also assist the subsidized institutes to improve the overall performance and financial achievement of the WEEE treatment institutes.

Rating Management Indicators, Counseling Evaluation, Rating Management Recycling and Clearance, Disposal Rate Fees