Pursuant to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) every manufacturer is obliged to provide annual evidence of an insolvency-proof guarantee for financing the collection and disposal of the electrical and electronic equipment it has put into circulation after 24 November 2005 and which may be used in private households.

The ElektroG is the implementation in national law of European Union Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment 2002/96/EC (WEEE), and Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment 2002/95/EC (RoHS), which came into force on 13 August 2005.

further information on WEEE (German)

The aim of the ElektroG is to broaden the responsibility of manufacturers to cover responsibility for the whole life cycle of the products they place on the market. It does this by making producers themselves responsible for the return and disposal of equipment according to particular environmental standards. In order to ensure this, as of 24 March 2006 private households must place their waste electrical and electronic equipment in a local authority collection separate from other domestic waste.

To co-ordinate the disposal on a nation-wide basis, manufacturers are obligated to establish and finance a "Clearing House". With its decision of 6 July 2005 the Federal Environmental Agency charged the private foundation stiftung elektro-altgeräter register (stiftung ear) with the responsibilities of a "National Clearing House". Thus stiftung ear carries out all the functions required by law for the implementation of the ElektroG. This innovative concept had the full and active backing of the electrical and electronics industry from the very beginning.

On 24 November 2005 registration with stiftung ear became mandatory.

Without proper registration manufacturers are no longer allowed to market their products!

A distinction is made between equipment for private (B2C) and exclusively commercial (B2B) uses. Manufacturers who bring equipment for private use into circulation must comply with the following obligations:

• Since 24 March 2006: obligation to mark and identify "new waste equipment" and duty to accept the return of electronic and electrical equipment.
• Annual submission of proof of an insolvency-proof guarantee for financing the return and disposal of waste equipment.

Bitkom Servicegesellschaft has the guarantee solution for you:
The WEEE Guarantee System!