According to the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG), electrical and electronic equipment must not be disposed of with normal household waste. Public
waste disposal authorities (counties and independent cities) are obliged to take back old electrical equipment from citizens free of charge and to pass it on to the responsible manufacturers and distributors for further treatment and recycling, or to recycle it themselves.
In most counties and independent cities, large appliances are collected as bulky waste or separately, and small electrical appliances can be handed in at collection points. Many retailers also take back old appliances in their stores.
Disposal is financed by the citizen when the product is purchased, so that disposal must then be free of charge for the citizen (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.
