According to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG), electrical and electronic equipment must not be disposed of with regular household waste.
Public waste management authorities (counties and independent cities) are required to accept old electrical appliances from residents free of charge and to forward them to the responsible manufacturers and distributors for further processing and recycling, or to recycle them themselves.
In most counties and cities not part of a county, large appliances are collected as part of bulky waste pickup or separately, and small electrical appliances can be dropped off at collection points. Many retailers also accept old appliances at their stores.
Citizens help finance disposal costs when they purchase the product, so disposal must then be free of charge for them (product responsibility).
Electrical and electronic devices must not be disposed of in the residual waste bin. They must be taken to the recycling center. This service is free of charge for private households.
Small appliances can be handed in at the Mainz Environmental Store, at all recycling centers, and at waste disposal centers.
Larger appliances (e.g., washing machines) can be picked up as bulky waste (call 06131 12-3434 to schedule a pickup) or dropped off at the two large waste disposal centers in Mainz-Hechtsheim and Budenheim.
