Information regarding electrical and electronic equipment (and waste equipment)

The following information is intended for private households that use electrical and/or electronic equipment. Please observe these important instructions in the interest of environmentally sound disposal of waste equipment and for your own safety.

1. Information on the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment and the meaning of the symbol in accordance with Annex 3 to the ElektroG (Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act):

Owners of waste equipment must ensure it is collected separately from unsorted municipal waste. Waste electrical and electronic equipment must therefore not be disposed of as unsorted municipal waste and, in particular, must not be placed in household waste. Instead, such waste equipment must be collected separately and disposed of via local collection and return systems.

Furthermore, owners of waste equipment must separate used batteries and accumulators that are not enclosed within the waste equipment, as well as lamps that can be removed from the waste equipment without being destroyed, from the equipment itself before handing it over to a collection point. The latter requirement does not apply if the waste equipment is... pursuant to § ...Section 14(4), sentence 4, or Section 14(5), sentences 2 and 3 of the ElektroG, are separated from other waste electrical and electronic equipment by public waste management authorities—as part of their decision to opt for such collection—for the purpose of preparing them for reuse.

Owners can identify waste electrical and electronic equipment that must be collected separately from unsorted municipal waste at the end of its service life by the symbol shown in Annex 3 to the ElektroG. The symbol for the separate collection of electrical and electronic equipment depicts a crossed-out wheeled bin and is designed as follows:

2. Information for end users regarding the return of old appliances:

End users who own old appliances have the following return options:

a) Return/collection upon purchase of a new appliance and delivery to a private household

When you enter into a purchase agreement with us for a new electrical or electronic appliance, you have the option to return—free of charge—an old appliance of the same type that performs essentially the same functions as the new appliance.

If the return is to take place at your private household, the return is handled via a free collection service. To this end, upon delivery of the new appliance, you may hand over an old appliance of the same type and with essentially the same functions to the delivering transport company.

If the new appliance is sold exclusively via means of distance communication (Section 312c para. 2 of the German Civil Code [BGB]), the following restrictions apply:

• Free collection of an old appliance of the same type and function takes place only if it falls under Category 1 (temperature exchange equipment), Category 2 (screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens with a surface area greater than 100 square centimeters), and/or Category 4 (large equipment where at least one external dimension exceeds 50 centimeters).
• If, instead, the old appliance falls under Category 3, 5, and/or 6, free collection does not apply; instead, the provisions of letter b) below apply regarding free return.

An overview of the appliance categories and the specific appliances included in each can be found here: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/elektrog_2015/anlage_1.html

b) Return upon purchase of a new appliance and drop-off ...elsewhere/Return of small appliances

When concluding a purchase contract with us for a new electrical appliance that is not delivered to a private household, and when selling a new appliance in categories 3, 5, and/or 6 exclusively via means of distance communication (Section 312c Para. 2 BGB) with delivery to a private household, there is an option to return—free of charge—a used appliance of the same type that performs essentially the same functions as the new appliance.

This same option exists—independently of the purchase of a new electrical or electronic appliance—for used appliances that do not exceed... in any external dimension ...are larger than 25 centimeters. In this case, the return option for the end user is limited to 3 old appliances per appliance type.

For sales conducted exclusively via means of distance communication (Section 312c Para. 2 of the German Civil Code [BGB]), provided the above conditions are met, the return

• of old appliances in categories 3, 5, and/or 6
• of old appliances with no external dimension exceeding 25 centimeters

takes place via suitable return options located within a reasonable distance of the respective end user.

Otherwise, the return takes place at the point of handover or in the immediate vicinity thereof.

We have established the following return options to fulfill our obligations:

You may return or send the aforementioned old appliances to us free of charge. Please contact us in advance if you wish to do so.

c) Other return options

Owners of old appliances from private households may also hand over these appliances at collection points operated by public waste management authorities or at take-back points established by manufacturers or distributors as defined by the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG). You can find an online directory of collection and take-back points here: https://www.ear-system.de/ear-verzeichnis/sammel-und-ruecknahmestellen.jsf

3. Note on data protection

Used devices awaiting disposal may contain sensitive personal data (e.g., on a PC or smartphone) that must not fall into the hands of third parties.

We expressly point out that end-users of used devices are personally responsible for deleting any personal data from the devices to be disposed of.