General information
The crossed-out wheelie bin symbol indicates that this electrical or electronic device must not be disposed of in household waste at the end of its service life, but must be taken to a separate collection point by the end user.
There are free collection points for old electrical appliances in your area, as well as other collection points for the reuse of appliances, if applicable. You can obtain the addresses from your city or local government.
Distributors with a sales area for electrical and electronic equipment of at least 400 square meters and distributors of food with a total sales area of at least 800 square meters who offer electrical and electronic equipment several times a calendar year or on a permanent basis and make it available on the market are also obliged to take back old electrical and electronic equipment free of charge.
When a new electrical or electronic device is delivered to an end user, they must take back, free of charge, an old device of the same type belonging to the end user that essentially performs the same functions as the new device at the point of sale or in the immediate vicinity thereof, free of charge, and, at the request of the end user, take back up to three old appliances per type of appliance, none of which exceed 25 centimeters in any external dimension, free of charge at the retail store or in the immediate vicinity thereof, without the purchase of an electrical or electronic appliance. In the case of distribution using means of distance communication, all storage and shipping areas are considered to be the distributor's sales areas.
If the old electrical or electronic device contains personal data, you are responsible for deleting it before returning it.
If possible without destroying the old electrical or electronic device, please remove old batteries or rechargeable batteries and old lamps before returning it for disposal and take them to a separate collection point.
Further information on the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act can also be found online at www.elektrogesetz.de.
Information on the disposal of batteries and accumulators
The symbol of a crossed-out trash can on batteries or accumulators indicates that they must not be disposed of in household waste at the end of their service life. If batteries or accumulators contain mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), or lead (Pb), you will find the respective chemical symbol below the crossed-out trash can symbol. You are legally obliged to return old batteries and accumulators after use. You can do this free of charge at a retail store or other collection point in your area. You can obtain addresses of suitable collection points from your city or local authority.
Batteries may contain substances that are harmful to the environment and human health. Special care must be taken when handling lithium batteries due to the particular risks involved. The separate collection and recycling of old batteries and accumulators is intended to prevent negative effects on the environment and human health.
Please avoid generating waste from old batteries as much as possible, e.g. by favoring batteries with a longer service life or rechargeable batteries. Please avoid littering public spaces by not carelessly discarding batteries or electrical and electronic equipment containing batteries. Please consider options for reusing a battery instead of disposing of it, for example by reconditioning or repairing the battery.
Further information on the Battery Act can also be found on the Internet at www.batteriegesetz.de.