According to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG), electrical and electronic equipment may not be disposed of with normal household waste.
The public waste management authorities (counties and independent cities) are obligated to take back old electrical and electronic equipment from citizens free of charge and to pass it on to the responsible manufacturers and distributors for further treatment and recycling or to recycle it themselves.
In most counties and independent cities, large appliances are taken along during bulky waste collection or separately, and small electrical appliances can be handed in at collection points. Many retailers also take back old appliances in their stores.
The disposal is already financed by the citizen when purchasing the product, so that the disposal must then be free of charge for the citizen (product responsibility).