The Bundestag has passed a law that consumers should be happy about: discounters will have to take back old electrical appliances from next year.
Berlin - By next year at the latest, consumers should be able to hand in old electrical appliances in the supermarket or discounter free of charge.
This has been decided by the Bundestag.
The change should especially please the customers.
It is rather questionable whether the dealers are happy.
The change in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act is to come into force by July 1, 2022 at the latest and affects discounters such as Aldi and Lidl, among others.
The take-back obligation applies to both small electrical appliances and larger old appliances.
The fee for small electronic devices, such as cell phones or flashlights, is not linked to the purchase of a new product.
In contrast, to hand in larger devices, it is necessary to purchase a corresponding new item.
Take back of old electrical appliances: Aldi, Lidl and Co. have a duty
With the extended take-back obligation for old electrical devices, it will be easier for consumers to hand in old devices. This obligation applies to a shop area of more than 800 square meters. In addition, the business has to offer electrical appliances several times a year. This already includes the regular sale of lamps. This change in the law increases the collection rate and leads more devices to high-quality recycling, according to the Federal Environment Ministry.
Easily accessible collection points are the best prerequisite for properly disposing of old electrical appliances, stressed Environment Minister Svenja Schulze.
In order to be able to identify the collection points better, these should be uniformly marked with the foundation "ear".
The return of old electrical appliances should be as easy as possible for consumers, she explains.
Consumers should be able to do this easily when shopping for the week or when shopping online.
Take-back of old electrical appliances: online retailers are also affected
Because the take-back obligation also includes online retailers.
These should offer their customers a free collection and disposal of old devices with every purchase of new electrical appliances.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, 86% of the waste electrical and electronic equipment collected was recycled in 2018.
At the same time, however, only around 43% of old electrical appliances were collected at all in the same year.
In order to change this, the amendment to the law means that in addition to previous dealers of electrical appliances, discounters and co. Will also be obliged to take them back in future.
The change in the law has yet to be confirmed by the Federal Council and should then come into force on January 1, 2022.
A transition period of six months then applies to trading.
At Aldi there will soon be drastic changes for its customers.
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(jsch / dpa)