Electrical appliances

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act

The ElektroG of 20.10.2015 ( Act on the Placing on the Market, Return and Environmentally Sound Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Equipment ) stipulates that waste electrical and electronic equipment must be collected separately and recycled. This means that waste electrical and electronic equipment may no longer be disposed of with household waste.

The aim of the ElektroG is to protect the environment and health. It is also intended to help conserve natural resources. The basic prerequisite for this is to avoid waste and recycle it as efficiently as possible.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households is collected by the public waste disposal authorities, i.e. the local authorities. Disposal at the collection points set up for this purpose is free of charge. The manufacturers are responsible for the proper recycling of old appliances.

Changes to the ElektroG from 15.08.2018

In 2018, the ElektroG will see far-reaching changes that will affect manufacturers of such devices in particular.

From August 15, 2018, the open scope will apply. All electrical and electronic devices will then fall within the legal scope of application unless they are explicitly excluded by a legal exception. For example, furniture and clothing with electronic functions could also be subject to registration.

At the same time, the previous 10 categories have been replaced by 6 new categories in implementation of the European WEEE Directive. Furthermore, the manufacturers’ committees have divided the waste into 17 new appliance types.

This means that manufacturers may be required to register additional waste electrical and electronic equipment with the Stiftung elektro-altgeräte-register ( Stiftung ear ). The ear foundation has provided a wealth of information on the new ElektroG on its website at www.stiftung-ear.de.

New groups as of 01.12.2018

As of 01.12.2018, the name and numbering of the collection groups will change. Waste electrical and electronic equipment will then be collected at the AWB collection points according to the following 6 groups.

• Heat exchangers (e.g. refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, oil radiators)
• Screens, monitors and devices containing screens with a surface area of more than 100 square centimeters (including televisions, notebooks, tablets)
• Lamps (including fluorescent tubes, energy-saving lamps, LED lamps)
• Large appliances where at least one of the external dimensions is more than 50 centimeters (including large household appliances, large consumer electronics appliances, large lights, large tools, large sports and leisure equipment, night storage heaters)
• Small appliances where none of the external dimensions exceeds 50 centimeters (including small household appliances, small consumer electronics appliances, small lamps, small tools, small toys, sports and leisure equipment)
• Photovoltaic modules

From 01.12.2018, battery-operated old appliances in groups 2, 4 and 5 will be collected separately in special transport units for battery-operated old appliances.