📋 Tender Overview
In the future, consumers are to return disused electrical appliances to retailers even more often. To achieve this, information in retail is to be improved and the return options expanded. This is provided for in the amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, which the Federal Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection published today for the state and association hearing. The amendment to the law is also intended to extend the obligation to take back disposable e-cigarettes to all points of sale. At the same time, the BMUV wants to improve protection against fire risks caused by incorrectly disposed of or damaged batteries. The aim of the amendment to the law is to collect more old electrical appliances in order to recover their valuable raw materials for high-quality recycling, and at the same time to increase the safety of disposal.
For years, sales figures for smartphones, tablets, screens and many other electrical appliances such as e-cigarettes or shoes with lighting have been increasing. In less than ten years, their number has doubled: In 2013, around 1.6 million tonnes of electrical appliances were placed on the market, and in 2021 it was already more than three million tonnes. With the increase, the number of disused and defective devices is also growing. According to Bitkom, more than 300 million disused cell phones, tablets and laptops alone slumber unused in private drawers and cupboards and are not disposed of. At the same time, large quantities of valuable raw materials are stored in private households. In order to ensure that these raw materials are properly disposed of and recycled, the Federal Environment Ministry wants to make it easier for consumers to return disused electrical appliances.
The draft amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) presented today stipulates that in future collection points in shops must be uniformly labelled so that consumers can find and use these return options more easily. In addition, the possibility of returning an old appliance without buying a new one at the same time is to be extended to all appliances with a canter length of up to 50 centimetres (previously 25 centimetres). This would mean that certain small types of devices, such as a hair dryer, would generally be covered by the return option without having to use a tape measure first.
The draft law is also intended to ensure that disposable e-cigarettes can be disposed of more easily and no longer end up in the residual waste or the environment. Disposable e-cigarettes are electrical appliances and must therefore be disposed of separately when they have served their purpose. In the future, consumers will therefore be able to return disposable electronic cigarettes at all points of sale where they can be purchased, including kiosks or petrol stations, for example. And at these points, information must also be provided about the take-back, so that awareness of the fact that disposable e-cigarettes do not belong in the residual waste increases.
In addition, the amendment to the law is intended to minimise fire risks caused by incorrectly disposed of lithium batteries. Lithium batteries are contained in more and more electrical appliances and some are permanently installed. For the waste management industry, the improper collection of lithium batteries during the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment is a considerable threat. Fires that can occur due to damaged or incorrectly disposed batteries lead to a shutdown of plants and, if they occur more frequently, can lead to disposal bottlenecks, as most recently happened in the field of battery disposal at the beginning of 2023. The draft law provides that in future waste electrical and electronic equipment will be sorted into the collection containers exclusively by trained staff of the recycling centre during collection at the recycling centre and that this will no longer be done by the consumers themselves. In particular, "throwing" the old equipment into the containers – as has been the case in many places so far – is to be avoided. The new requirement ensures that batteries are removed from handed in electrical appliances - if possible - and that these batteries are disposed of separately. This reduces the risk of damage to the battery due to mechanical compression during collection and transport.
The amendment to the law implements a measure from the coalition agreement that is intended to address the current, urgent problems in connection with the disposal of electronic waste. The law is to be passed before the end of this legislative period. Companies, associations and civil society organisations can participate in the hearing launched today until 23 May 2024.
Since 1 July 2022, consumers have been able to hand in their disused electrical appliances with an edge length of up to 25 centimetres free of charge not only at recycling centres, but also at many food retailers. For small old electrical appliances, such as mobile phones or flashlights, this applies regardless of the purchase of a new product, for larger old appliances when buying a corresponding new item. Anything larger than 25 centimetres can only be handed in to food retailers if a comparable product is purchased there, for example as part of a campaign. Many consumers are not aware that they can simply hand in such small electrical appliances when shopping in the supermarket. Many people are also not aware that basically everything that flashes, makes sounds or contains a battery is an electrical appliance, even if it is only a postcard or a dog collar. Therefore, improving information is also crucial in order to recycle more old electrical appliances.
