Disposal of old equipment

Information on electrical and electronic (waste) equipment

The following information is intended for private households that use electrical and/or electronic equipment. Please follow these important instructions in the interest of environmentally sound disposal of old appliances and your own safety.

1. information on the disposal of electrical (waste) equipment and the meaning of the symbol according to Annex 3 to the ElektroG:

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

Owners of WEEE must also separate used batteries and accumulators that are not enclosed in the WEEE, as well as lamps that can be removed from the WEEE without destroying it, from the WEEE before handing it over to 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) sentence 2 and 3 of the ElektroG within the framework of opting out by the public waste management authorities for the purpose of preparing it for reuse.

By means of the symbol according to Annex 3 to the ElektroG, owners can recognize 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 garbage can and is designed as follows:

111

2. information on the possibility of returning old equipment for end users:

End users as owners of old equipment have the following return options:

a) Return/collection in case of purchase of a new device and delivery to a private household

When concluding a purchase contract with us for a new electrical or electronic device, you have the option of returning an old device of the same type that essentially fulfills the same functions as the new device free of charge.

If the place of delivery is your private household, the return takes place by means of a free pick-up. For this purpose, you can hand over an old device of the same type with essentially the same functions to the delivering transport company when the new device is delivered.

If the new device is sold exclusively by means of distance communication(Section 312c (2) of the German Civil Code), the following shall apply restrictively:

  • Free collection of an end-of-life device of the same type and function will only be provided if it is a category 1 device (heat exchangers), 2 (screens, monitors, devices with screens with a surface area of more than 100 square centimeters) and/or 4 (large devices where at least one of the external dimensions is more than 50 centimeters).
  • If instead it is an old device of category 3, 5 and/or 6, free collection shall not take place and instead the following letter b) shall apply for free return

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

b) Return in case of purchase of a new device and delivery elsewhere/return of small devices

When concluding a purchase contract with us 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) of the German Civil Code (BGB)) with delivery to a private household, you have the option of returning an old appliance of the same type that essentially fulfills the same functions as the new appliance free of charge.

The same possibility exists independently of the purchase of a new electrical or electronic device also for old devices, which are not larger than 25 centimeters in any external dimension. In this case, the possibility of return by the end user is limited to 3 old devices per type of equipment.

In the case of distribution exclusively using means of distance communication(Section 312c (2) of the German Civil Code (BGB)), under the above conditions the return of

  • of old equipment of categories 3, 5 and/or 6
  • of old equipment, which is not larger than 25 centimeters in any external dimension,

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

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

We have established the following return options to fulfill our obligations:

Be sure to inform here about the return options you have created for waste electrical equipment.

(Please note: IT-Recht Kanzlei cannot provide you with a "sample text" regarding the information on the options you have created for returning old electrical equipment, as there are various take-back systems and they are each designed differently. For example, you must inform the end user where he can find a nearby take-back point. As a rule, this will be solved by linking to the website of the provider of your take-back system with a corresponding search function. However, a corresponding information text on the details of your take-back system should be provided to you by the provider of your take-back system. Important: Please insert the information text of your provider on the respective take-back system and the return options for old devices created by it in the following sample under number 2. In this way, you can then comply with your online information obligations under the ElektroG as a whole).

c) Other return options

Owners of old appliances from private households can also hand in the old appliances at the collection points of the public waste management authorities or at the take-back points set up by manufacturers or distributors as defined by the ElektroG.

3. note on data protection

Some of the old devices to be disposed of contain sensitive personal data (such as 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 must take responsibility for deleting personal data from the old devices to be disposed of.