The present Act transposes the Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment Into the German legislation. Furthermore, the Act has been notified according to the Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations. The Act also implements article 23 of the Waste Avoidance, Recovery and Disposal Act. The aims of the present Act are to protect the environment and health and to conserve natural resources. The basic prerequisite for achieving these aims is the avoidance of waste, the reduction of waste volume and a ban on the use of certain hazardous materials. In particular, the Act aims for protecting health and nature against poisonous substances from electrical and electronic equipment, reducing the amount of waste due recycling and therefore producers are more and more responsible for the whole life of their products, from creation up to disposal. Producer under the present Act does not only mean the person creating a product, but also the importer, exporter and, under certain circumstances, the distributor. The Act requires local authorities to set up collection points for electrical and electronic equipment that was in use in private households. Producers must collect the equipment from these sites and dispose of it properly. Producers are also required to ensure professional disposal of equipment that was used for commercial purposes only. Therefore they have to set up their own take-back system for discarded equipment.
Article 36 establishes that the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt – UBA) is the authority responsible for the correct enforcement of the present Act. The German Federal Environment Agency collects data from producers, local authorities, distributors and waste disposal companies and processes it to meet the requirements of reporting to the European Commission. It develops and publishes scientifically established specifications for monitoring. Furthermore, the Federal Environment Agency supports the further development of legislation on both the national and international level. The best available technology for collection and disposal of used electrical and electronic equipment is developed by expertise and for example by allocating and guiding investment projects in the context with the grant programme for financing demonstration projects to reduce environment pollution. Finally the Agency informs the public about producer responsibilities for used electrical and electronic equipment and its relevance for other environment-related areas and stakeholders.
The text consists of 46 articles divided into 9 Parts as follows: General provisions (1);:Obligation of putting on the market electrical and electronic equipment (2); Collection and taking back (3); Treatment and recovery obligations, shipments (4); Notification, communication and information obligations (5); Common collection place (6); Competent authority (7); Mortgage lending (8); Final provisions (9).