Many people still don’t know what to do with old electrical appliances. The result: they are often disposed of incorrectly. With a new law, the traffic light wants to make returns in stores easier.
In the future, disposable e-cigarettes and other electrical devices should be easier to sell in stores after use. This emerges from a change in the law that the Federal Cabinet has decided on. In the future, consumers should be able to return disposable e-cigarettes to all points of sale where they are sold – for example at kiosks or gas stations. The return should not be tied to conditions such as the purchase of a new disposable e-cigarette.
According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the new law aims to ensure that e-cigarettes are disposed of properly and no longer end up in the environment or in residual waste as often. For this purpose, the sales outlets should also provide information about the return in the future.
In general, consumers should receive more information about the disposal of old devices. The draft amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act that has now been approved stipulates that collection points for electrical equipment in shops must be marked uniformly. In this way, consumers should be made more aware of return options than before. In addition, points of sale – such as shelves – should be marked with the symbol of the crossed-out garbage can and show buyers of electrical appliances that they are purchasing a device that must be disposed of separately after use.
Incorrectly disposed of lithium batteries are a common cause of fire
The planned change in the law, which the Bundestag still has to discuss, also provides for measures to combat fire risks caused by the incorrect disposal of lithium batteries. In the future, only trained recycling center staff will be allowed to collect these batteries and sort them into appropriate containers. Consumers should no longer be allowed to do this themselves.
From the point of view of the leading environment ministry, this is intended to guarantee more safety. It is said that fires caused by damaged or incorrectly disposed of batteries could lead to plant shutdowns and disposal bottlenecks. According to the Federal Association of German Waste Management, Water and Circulation Management (BDE), there are up to thirty fires per day nationwide in recycling and sorting plants, in depots or in garbage trucks. Lithium batteries are often responsible for fires.
Overall, the Federal Environment Ministry sees a great need for action when it comes to the disposal of electrical appliances: The number of electrical appliances has doubled in less than ten years, it says: While in 2013, according to the ministry, there were still around 1.6 million tons of electrical appliances in circulation, this will already be the case in 2021 been more than three million tons. With the increase, the number of defective and obsolete devices is also growing.
Consumers are often not aware of the return option
Since July 1, 2022, consumers have been able to hand in their old electrical appliances with an edge length of up to 25 centimeters free of charge not only at recycling centers, but also at many food retailers. For small old electrical devices such as cell phones or flashlights, this applies regardless of the purchase of a new product, for larger old devices only when purchasing a corresponding new item, as a so-called one-to-one return. It is said that many consumers are not aware of the return options. Better information is therefore central to increasing the recycling rate for electrical devices.
Several associations expressed criticism of the planned change in the law and described the measures as ineffective. German Environmental Aid is calling, among other things, for a complete ban on disposable e-cigarettes instead of stricter return rules. The digital association Bitkom is calling for EU-wide regulations. It is said that this is the only way to sustainably increase the take-back rates for old devices.
Source: Stern
