E-waste disposal
Source: BUS Rheinland-PfalzAccording to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG), electrical and electronic equipment may not be disposed of with normal household waste.
The public waste disposal authorities (districts and independent cities) are obliged to take back old electrical appliances from citizens free of charge and to pass them on to the responsible manufacturers and distributors for further treatment and recycling or to recycle them themselves.
In most districts and independent cities, large appliances are taken along for bulky waste collection or separately and the small electrical appliances can be handed in at the collection points. Many retailers also take back old appliances in stores.
The disposal is already financed by the citizen at the time of purchase of the product, so that the disposal must then be free of charge for the citizen (product responsibility).
Objectives of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act
The "Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act" (Act on the Placing on the Market, Taking Back and Environmentally Sound Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Equipment of 20.10.2015) is intended to implement the product responsibility of manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment under waste legislation. It serves the following objectives
- to protect health and the environment from harmful substances from electrical and electronic equipment and
- to reduce the amount of waste through reuse or recovery (recycling).
Obligations of consumers
Consumers are obliged to dispose of their discarded electrical and electronic appliances separately from household waste. They can hand them in free of charge at municipal collection points. Alternatively, they can use a take-back system provided by the manufacturers or distributors of electrical and electronic equipment.
Under no circumstances should electrical appliances be disposed of with household waste. This not only results in the loss of valuable raw materials for the material cycle, but also introduces additional harmful substances into household waste. To indicate which appliances are accepted by collection points or take-back systems, electrical appliances are marked with a clear symbol, the crossed-out waste garbage can.
Obligations of distributors
Distributors with a sales area for electrical and electronic equipment of at least 400 square meters are obliged, when selling a new electrical or electronic appliance to an end user, to take back free of charge an old appliance of the same type that essentially fulfils the same functions as the new appliance (1:1 take-back) and to take back free of charge old appliances that are not larger than 25 centimetres in any external dimension in normal household quantities, whereby the take-back may not be linked to the purchase of an electrical or electronic appliance (0:1 take-back). There is a limit of 5 old appliances per appliance type.
Obligations in the mail order business
The take-back obligations for distributors also apply to mail order businesses, in which case the minimum area of 400 square meters refers to the retailer's entire storage and shipping area. Whether the old appliances can then simply be sent to the retailer or the retailer sets up another form of take-back is up to the retailer.
Obligations of the public waste disposal authorities
Local authorities are obliged to accept waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households at collection points.
The returned WEEE is sorted into six collection groups at the municipal collection points. ("Heat exchangers", "Screens, monitors and appliances containing screens with a surface area of more than 100 cm²", "Lamps", "Large appliances", "Small appliances" and "Small information and telecommunications technology equipment") This means that the requirements of the various appliances can be better addressed when preparing them for reuse and treatment.
In Worms, old appliances in normal household quantities can be handed in free of charge at the Bobenheimer Straße recycling center. Location: Bobenheimer Straße 1, 67547 Worms Gewerbegebiet Südwest; near Weinsheim (signposted)
Obligations of the manufacturer
Manufacturers are responsible for the proper disposal of returned waste electrical and electronic equipment. They bear the financial product responsibility for the disposal of electrical appliances placed on the market.
Recycling rates
Depending on the category, recovery rates of between 70 and 80 percent and rates of between 50 and 80 percent for preparation for reuse and recycling must be achieved for all old appliances.
Shipment of used appliances / waste electrical and electronic equipment
The export of used, functional electrical appliances as a product with the aim of direct reuse is generally permitted. (Exception: CFC refrigerators and freezers)
Minimum requirements for the shipment of used appliances, which may be old appliances, are listed in Annex 6 to the ElektroG. For example, each appliance must be accompanied by an invoice or purchase contract and a declaration from the owner that it is not waste. The appliances must also be adequately protected against damage.
Private individuals can/may only legally buy, resell and export functioning electrical appliances.
As soon as electrical appliances are classified as waste, they are subject to return obligations as waste electrical equipment and may only be returned to the public waste management authority, the manufacturer or the distributor.