How-to guides · Disposal of household PCs and displays in Japan through the maker take-back scheme run with PC3R, or through small home appliance recycling

Disposing of an old PC in Japan: the PC Recycle Mark, maker take-back, the small appliance route, and self-built machines

Once the new PC arrives, the old one has to go somewhere, and in Japan that is a choice between routes. Household PCs are collected and recycled by their makers under the resource recycling law, and the PC 3R Promotion Association (PC3R) publishes the index of maker contact points. Whether a recycling fee is charged at disposal time depends on the PC Recycle Mark, which has been affixed to household PCs sold from October 2003 onwards. PCs whose maker no longer exists, and self-built PCs, are collected by the association itself; workstations, servers, word processors and printers are out of scope and go to the municipality. The second route is the small home appliance recycling law, in force since 1 April 2013, under which participating retailers and municipalities collect PCs - but coverage, method and fees differ by store and by municipality. Erasing the data is the user's own responsibility, which the association states explicitly.

Published 2026-09-20 · Updated 2026-09-20 · FaultNote editorial policy

Disposing of an old PC in Japan: the PC Recycle Mark, maker take-back, the small appliance route, and self-built machines overview: 1. There are two routes, not one, 2. What the PC Recycle Mark decides is whether a fee is charged, 3. Self-built PCs, defunct makers, and what is out of scope, 4. Packing and handover for maker take-back, 5. The other route: small home appliance recycling, 6. Erasing the data is your responsibility - but do not smash the drive yourself — An overview of this guide’s steps and checks, not a screenshot of the app.

Who this guide is for and what to prepare

Anyone who has replaced a PC in Japan and needs to dispose of the old machine or display
Anyone wondering whether the PC Recycle Mark means disposal is free
Anyone with a self-built PC, or one whose maker no longer exists, looking for a collection point
Anyone deciding between a retailer's small appliance recycling and the maker take-back route

What you need

Check whether the machine carries a PC Recycle Mark - the position varies by model
Note the maker and model name; some brands have moved to another company's take-back
Count how many units you are disposing of at once - each is packed separately
Erase the data first (this site's guide to erasing a PC before selling it covers the methods)

1. There are two routes, not one

The first is maker take-back. PC3R directs users to apply through each maker's own collection page and publishes an index to find it by maker name; the index was marked as current as of August 2026 when read on 20 September 2026. "Self-built PC" appears in that index as an entry of its own.

The second is collection under the small home appliance recycling law. PC3R explains that the law came into force on 1 April 2013 and that retailers now collect PCs under it. It also explains the history: PCs had been collected and recycled by their makers under the resource recycling law, and many municipalities had stopped collecting them as household waste, which left maker take-back as effectively the only route. That is why a PC frequently cannot simply be put out with the rubbish.

The small appliance route is not uniform. PC3R states that although most small appliances including PCs are covered by the law, not every covered item is collected uniformly nationwide: collection happens only at participating retailers and municipalities, and the items collected differ between them.

2. What the PC Recycle Mark decides is whether a fee is charged

PC3R states that the PC Recycle Mark is affixed to household PCs sold from October 2003 (Heisei 15) onwards, and that a PC carrying the mark can be disposed of without bearing any new fee at disposal time.

Where the mark is absent - that is, products purchased up to September 2003 - the user bears the collection and recycling fee, and the association directs readers to ask the individual PC maker about the amount. No figures are printed here, because they vary by maker and none was observed on a maker's page for this guide.

There are exceptions to the mark's presence: PC3R notes that although household PCs are in principle sold with the mark, some products have the mark sent out by the maker on request. It also warns that the actual mark is not necessarily in colour, so do not hunt for it by colour.

The mark itself is a registered trademark - registration number 4761714 - owned by the association.

Scroll horizontally to see the full table →

2. What the PC Recycle Mark decides is whether a fee is charged
Situation	Route	What is published about the fee
A household PC carrying the PC Recycle Mark	Apply to the maker's collection contact	Can be disposed of without bearing a new fee at disposal time
No mark (products purchased up to September 2003)	Apply to the maker's collection contact	The collection and recycling fee is borne by the user; ask the maker for the amount
The maker has gone out of business or withdrawn, or the PC is self-built	The PC 3R Promotion Association collects it	Confirm at the point of application; the association's pages carry the fee information
The brand has moved to another company's take-back	Apply to the current collector - IBM machines, for example, are collected by Lenovo Japan	As published by the company that now handles it
Workstations, servers, word processors, printers and the like	Out of scope; ask your municipality	Varies by municipality
Using a retailer's or municipality's small appliance recycling	Only where they participate	Whether PCs are collected, how, and at what fee differs by store and municipality

3. Self-built PCs, defunct makers, and what is out of scope

Self-built machines are covered explicitly: PC3R states that PCs from makers that have gone bankrupt or withdrawn from the business, and self-built PCs, are collected by the association itself. If you cannot tell whether your machine falls into the "no maker exists" category, the association asks you to contact it.

Transferred brands are listed individually. According to that page, KOUZIRO and FRONTIER machines are collected by Inverse Net; SOTEC and Onkyo by ODS; Prime and Dospara by Thirdwave; Japan Victor and Tokyo Tokushu Densen by JVCKenwood; DEC and Compaq by HP Japan; and IBM by Lenovo Japan. If the logo on your machine is not in the main maker index, start on that page.

What is out of scope is equally explicit: workstations, servers, word processors and printers are not covered by this collection, and the association directs users to their municipality instead. If you are retiring a printer at the same time as the PC, that is a separate route.

4. Packing and handover for maker take-back

Packing is the user's job. PC3R asks that you pack the PC yourself, to a standard sufficient that it will not tear open in transit.

The unit count matters. Where several items are disposed of at once - a desktop PC and a display, for instance - the association asks that each be packed separately, with its own Eco Yu-Pack consignment slip attached. A tower and a monitor cannot share a box.

There are limits on what can travel with the machine: standard bundled items such as the keyboard and mouse should go in the same box or bag as the PC being disposed of, and anything that was not a standard bundled item is not subject to collection.

Handover works two ways: door-to-door collection from your home, or taking the parcel to a post office yourself. Not every counter accepts it - the association states that convenience stores, postage stamp retailers, simplified post offices and Yu-Pack handling agents other than post offices cannot handle these parcels.

On cost, the page states that no separate transport charge applies. It also warns that where the collected PC differs from what was stated in the application, the item may be returned.

Scroll horizontally to see the full table →

4. Packing and handover for maker take-back
Item	What is published
Packing	Done by the user; simple packing that will not tear open in transit
Disposing of several units at once	Pack each unit separately and attach an Eco Yu-Pack slip to each
What can go in the box	Standard bundled items such as keyboard and mouse go in the same box or bag; non-standard items are not collected
Handover	Door-to-door collection from the home, or taking it to a post office
Counters that cannot accept it	Convenience stores, postage stamp retailers, simplified post offices, and Yu-Pack agents other than post offices
Transport charge	No separate transport charge applies

5. The other route: small home appliance recycling

PC3R names major electronics retailers that collect small appliances - Edion, K's Denki, Kojima, Joshin, Sofmap, Bic Camera, Yamada Denki and Yodobashi Camera - listed in Japanese syllabic order and marked as current as of August 2023.

The caveat is attached to the list: not every store of those chains necessarily collects PCs, so whether PCs are accepted, by what method, and at what fee should be checked on each retailer's own website or at a nearby store.

For municipalities, the association asks readers to contact the responsible department or check the municipality's website or refuse calendar. Regarding the Ministry of the Environment's small appliance recycling portal, the page stated at the time of reading that the portal was under maintenance and that readers should confirm details with their municipality (observed 20 September 2026).

On data leakage, the page notes that under the scheme, retailers that collect PCs have their information-leak countermeasures checked as part of national accreditation, and that municipalities may only collect PCs where such countermeasures can be taken. That is a framework at the scheme's end; it does not remove the user's own erasure responsibility, which is the subject of the next section.

6. Erasing the data is your responsibility - but do not smash the drive yourself

PC3R is unambiguous: the data belongs to the user, and the association's position is that erasing it is the user's own responsibility. That holds whichever route you use.

It also warns about erasure that only looks like erasure. Putting files in the recycle bin, deleting them, emptying the bin, formatting, or restoring to factory state with a recovery disc may change only the file management information, leaving the data merely invisible and still recoverable. On recovery discs specifically, the page states that while the area holding the programs returns to its as-purchased state, the areas that held data are not erased.

Three categories of method are listed: using data-erasure software, using special equipment that applies a strong magnetic field, and physical destruction. For a machine that no longer starts, the page notes that the drive may still be alive even when the PC body has failed, so the risk remains; it suggests connecting the drive to a working PC to erase it, among other options.

The safety warning appears twice and is worth repeating: do not take the hard disk out and smash it with a hammer. The association points out that the platters in recent drives are glass-coated and shatter easily, making this genuinely dangerous, and recommends using a specialist where physical destruction is required, since it needs specialist skill and equipment.

One point of divergence worth knowing. On overwriting, PC3R states that a single pass with a fixed pattern is basically sufficient and that two passes can generally be called complete. NIST SP 800-88r2 (September 2025), by contrast, says that for flash media such as SSDs with overprovisioning, multi-pass overwriting should be avoided as very little confidentiality protection is achieved. PC3R's text is written around hard disks; the medium changes the premise. This site's guide to erasing a PC before selling it compares the methods, including why overwriting is the wrong tool on an SSD.

Limitations and requirements

Everything here was read on the PC 3R Promotion Association's pages on 20 September 2026. The maker contact index was marked current as of August 2026, and the participating retailer list as of August 2023.
No fee amounts are printed. The association directs readers to ask the individual PC maker, and no maker's figure was observed for this guide.
Small appliance recycling is limited to participating retailers and municipalities, and coverage, method and fees are not uniform. Confirm with the specific store or municipal department.
Do not break a hard disk open with a hammer. The association warns about this explicitly; use a specialist if physical destruction is required.
This guide covers household PCs in Japan. Business-use PCs fall under a separate scheme.

Frequently asked questions

If it has the PC Recycle Mark, is disposal free?

The association states that a PC carrying the mark can be disposed of without bearing a new fee at disposal time. The mark has been affixed to household PCs sold from October 2003 onwards. For products without it - those purchased up to September 2003 - the collection and recycling fee is borne by the user, and the amount has to be confirmed with the maker. Separately, the packing and collection page states that no separate transport charge applies.

Who takes a self-built PC?

The PC 3R Promotion Association itself. Its page states that PCs from bankrupt or withdrawn makers, and self-built PCs, are collected by the association, and "self-built PC" appears as an entry in the maker contact index. If you are unsure whether your machine counts as having no existing maker, the association asks you to contact it.

Can I send the tower and the monitor together?

You can dispose of them at the same time, but not in the same box. The association asks that where several units are disposed of at once - a desktop PC and a display, for example - each is packed separately with its own Eco Yu-Pack slip. Standard bundled items such as the keyboard and mouse go in the same box or bag as the PC; anything beyond the standard bundle is not collected.

Can I get rid of the printer at the same time?

Not through this collection. The association states that workstations, servers, word processors, printers and similar equipment are out of scope and directs you to your municipality. Some retailers accept them under small appliance recycling, but whether they do, by what method and at what fee differs by store, so check with the store.

How thoroughly do I need to erase the data before handing it over?

The association's position is that the data belongs to the user and erasing it is the user's own responsibility. It also warns that deleting, formatting or restoring with a recovery disc does not erase the areas that held data. For the practical methods - the Windows reset with Clean data, cryptographic erase, and why multi-pass overwriting is the wrong tool for an SSD - see this site's guide to erasing a PC before selling it. And note the association's explicit warning not to smash the drive yourself, because of the injury risk.

Sources and verification date

Sources checked: 2026-09-20. These sources support the specifications, procedures or prices discussed here. Check each source for applicable conditions and current information.

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