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Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act
New obligations for the markets
by Stefan Weber

The Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act comes into force on 1 July. It is intended to ensure that old appliances are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. REWE Group stores are also required to do so.

Whether it's a razor, iron or torch: electrical appliances must be disposed of properly - for example at a recycling centre. This ensures that electronic waste is processed for reuse and recyclable materials are utilised - which is also good for the climate.

With the new Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG), the German government wants to ensure that more old appliances are collected and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner in future. The ElektroG also makes REWE stores responsible.

What does the legislator require of retailers?

From 1 July 2022, stores must indicate when selling electrical appliances that customers can return old appliances whose longest edge is shorter than 25 centimetres free of charge. This applies to all stores with a total sales area of at least 800 square metres that sell electrical and electronic appliances several times a year or on a permanent basis.

Which products are involved?

Customers can return old appliances with an edge length of up to 25 centimetres to the stores - even if they are not buying a new appliance. However, a maximum of three products per appliance type, for example a maximum of three lamps or three shavers. Larger items can only be returned when purchasing a comparable product. In all cases, customers must remove rechargeable batteries and batteries in advance.

Which REWE stores are affected?

"Although the law only requires shops with a minimum sales area of 800 square metres to take back old appliances, all REWE stores will be required to accept them as a gesture of goodwill in future, regardless of their store size," explains Sara Janssens, project manager in the store processes department at the Cologne headquarters.

How do you take back and reuse old appliances?

The stores display notices informing customers about the possibility of returning old appliances. Customers can hand over the discarded products to employees. Sara Janssens: "REWE relies on the existing returns processes to collect the appliances: The stores send old appliances to the returns warehouse in Worms via the regional warehouses on a quarterly basis."

Will consumers flood the markets with old appliances in future?

Rather not. This is indicated by the experience of retailers who have already been offering their customers the option of taking back electronic waste for several months. It will be a few months before we can say how much of a burden this actually is on the markets.

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