Information on electrical and electronic (old) appliances

The following information is aimed at private households that use electrical and/or electronic appliances. Please follow these important instructions in the interests of environmentally friendly disposal of old appliances and your own safety.

1. information on the disposal of (old) electrical and electronic equipment and the meaning of the symbol in accordance with Annex 3 of the ElektroG

Owners of old appliances must dispose of them separately from unsorted municipal waste. Waste electrical and electronic equipment may therefore not be disposed of as unsorted municipal waste and in particular does not belong in household waste. Instead, these old appliances must be collected separately and disposed of via the local collection and return systems, for example.

Owners of old appliances must also separate old batteries and accumulators that are not enclosed in the old appliance, as well as lamps that can be removed from the old appliance without destroying them, before handing them in at a collection point.

The latter does not apply if the WEEE is separated from other WEEE in accordance with Section 14 (4) sentence 4 or (5) sentences 2 and 3 ElektroG as part of the opting process by the public waste management authorities for the purpose of preparing it for reuse.

The symbol in Annex 3 of the ElektroG enables owners to recognise old appliances that are to be collected separately from unsorted municipal waste at the end of their service life. The symbol for the separate collection of electrical and electronic equipment represents a crossed-out wheeled bin and is designed as follows:

2. free take-back of old appliances by distributors

Distributors (any natural or legal person or partnership offering or making available on the market electrical and electronic equipment) with a sales area for electrical and electronic equipment of at least 400 square metres (in the case of distribution using means of distance communication, instead with storage and dispatch areas for electrical and electronic equipment of at least 400 square metres) and distributors of foodstuffs with a total sales area of at least 800 square metres , who offer and make available on the market electrical and electronic equipment several times per calendar year or on a permanent basis (in the case of distribution using means of distance communication instead with a total storage and dispatch area of at least 800 square metres) are obliged to take back WEEE free of charge from end users as follows:

a) Return/collection when purchasing a new appliance and delivery to a private household

When concluding a purchase contract for a new electrical or electronic appliance, the distributor is obliged to take back, free of charge, an old appliance of the same type that essentially fulfils the same functions as the new appliance.

If the location is a private household, the take-back is carried out by means of a free collection. For this purpose, an old appliance of the same type with essentially the same functions can be handed over to the delivering transport company when the new appliance is delivered.

If the new appliance is sold exclusively by means of distance communication (Section 312c (2) BGB), the following restrictions apply:

The free collection of an old appliance of the same type and function shall only take place if it is a category 1 (heat exchangers), 2 (screens, monitors, appliances with screens with a surface area of more than 100 square centimetres) and/or 4 (large appliances where at least one of the external dimensions is more than 50 centimetres) appliance.
If it is an old appliance of category 3, 5 and/or 6 instead, there is no free collection and instead the following letter b) applies for the free return.

An overview of the appliance categories and the appliances covered in each case can be found here: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/elektrog_2015/anlage_1.html

b) Return when purchasing a new appliance and returning it elsewhere/returning small appliances

When concluding a purchase contract for a new electrical appliance that is not delivered to a private household and when selling a new appliance of categories 3, 5 and/or 6 exclusively using means of distance communication (Section 312c (2) BGB) with delivery to a private household, it is possible to return an old appliance of the same type that essentially fulfils the same functions as the new appliance to the distributor free of charge.

The same option is also available for old appliances that do not exceed 25 centimetres in any external dimension, irrespective of the purchase of a new electrical or electronic appliance. In this case, the end user may only return 3 old appliances per appliance type to the distributor.

In the case of sales exclusively using means of distance communication (Section 312c (2) BGB), the return is possible under the above-mentioned conditions

of old appliances in categories 3, 5 and/or 6
of old appliances that are not larger than 25 centimetres in any external dimension,

through suitable return options at a reasonable distance from the respective end user.

Otherwise, the return shall take place at the place of delivery or in the immediate vicinity thereof.

The distributors must have set up suitable return options for this purpose.

3. information on the options for returning old appliances

Owners of old appliances can hand them in at the facilities set up and available by public waste disposal organisations for the return or collection of old appliances to ensure that they are disposed of properly. It may also be possible to hand in electrical and electronic equipment there for the purpose of reuse. You can obtain more detailed information on this from the respective collection or return centre.

4. note on data protection

Some of the old devices to be disposed of contain sensitive personal data (e.g. on a PC or smartphone) that must not fall into the hands of third parties.

We expressly point out that end users of old devices are responsible for deleting personal data on the old devices to be disposed of.

5. note on our WEEE registration number

We are registered with the Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte Register, Nordostpark 72 in 90411 Nuremberg, Germany, as a manufacturer of electrical and/or electronic equipment under the following registration number (WEEE Reg. No. DE):

„DE 31112252“

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.