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).