Previously, online retailers often offered pick up old appliances or equipment for a fee, Bonnorange explains. They are now obliged to collect certain categories including refrigerators, monitors or large household appliances, free of charge when a similar new product is bought. As Bonnorange explains, dealers must now take back appliances in smaller categories and with dimensions of less than 25 centimetres free of charge either themselves or in cooperation with parcel services. This will mean additional work for some companies. “The workload for us retailers is not insignificant and will be increased by the amendment of the law,” explains a press spokesperson for electronics retailer Media Markt. The company could not answer GA’s question about how many old appliances have been collected in the Bonn shop since January.

Media Markt offers various return options for online purchases: “When the goods are delivered by a transport company, the old equipment is taken immediately. If goods are shipped in a parcel, the odd appliance is collected later by a service provider,” the spokesperson says. Smaller appliances can be returned to the shop after the online purchase. Certain basic rules apply to wholesalers whose combined shop and warehouse space exceeds 400 square metres: According to Bonnorange, retailers must take back old appliances with an edge length of up to 25 centimetres regardless of a new purchase. If the old appliance exceeds these dimensions, dealers only have to take back the old appliance in exchange for the purchase of a new appliance of similar size.

The electronics wholesaler Conrad does things differently: according to the company's press office, it accepts old appliances of any size in its shops voluntarily and free of charge. In the course of buying an “equivalent product” online, customers can have larger old appliances collected.  Similar to Media Markt, the appliances are stored professionally until a certified service provider collects and disposes of or recycles them. Another change in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act concerns supermarkets with a sales area of at least 800 square metres. Bonnorange says that since the beginning of the year they have to take back old appliances from consumers free of charge if they offer electrical appliances several times a year. According to a Rewe press spokesperson, the take-back obligation for supermarkets will be implemented by 1 July at the latest. The implementation of the law is still being prepared and Rewe stores are not yet taking back electrical appliances. The same applies to Aldi. The discounter is also still working on a suitable concept and is not currently taking back equipment, their press office explains.

Smaller retailers with sales areas of less than 400 square metres are still not obliged to take back old electrical appliances, Lefèvre said. Some, including Herbert Parton's electrical engineering company, offer to take them back voluntarily for a surcharge. Parton is not worried about the new regulations. “In the last two years, requests for the disposal of old appliances have increased significantly,” he says, explaining that customers appreciate the service combined with installation and delivery of a new appliance. Parton gives the old appliances to the recycling centre or to a scrap dealer. An alternative is the red bins Bonnorange offers to smaller dealers, Lefèvre said. Employees and customers can dispose of small electrical appliances in them.

In other retail sectors, too, companies are focusing on recycling strategies. Since October last year, customers at C&A in Bonn have been able to return old clothing to the shop in exchange for a discount voucher, a spokeswoman explained. The company then sells or recycles the textiles through various partners. The programme is well received by customers in Bonn: “Every day we have at least 2 to 3 boxes that we send to be recycled. That’s about 30 to 40 kilogrammes of clothing.”

Originalartikel: Christine Van den Bongard

Translation: Jean Lennox