For example, changes affecting the recycling of electronics and electrical appliances, packaging and batteries came into force across Europe on January 1, 2022. To mention the changes of all countries in the newsletter would go beyond the scope. Today we focus on changes in the DACH region.
If you have any questions about specific countries, please feel free to contact us! Our colleagues will be happy to help you.
We hope you enjoy reading our newsletter and look forward to your feedback.
With best regards, Deutsche Recycling
Switzerland: News on the VREG
Ordinance on the return and disposal of electrical and electronic equipment
In October 2021, the Swiss Federal Council approved a revision of the Ordinance on the Return and Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Equipment. In doing so, the scope of the ordinance will be expanded to include all electrical and electronic equipment.
In particular, electrical equipment such as medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, dispensing machines, photovoltaic modules, etc., which were not previously covered by the VREG. The DETEC (Department of the Environment in Switzerland will publish a list on which the affected devices are listed.
The changes came into force from 1.1.2022 for all electrical and electronic equipment.
Recycling in Switzerland is organized through different systems, depending on the type of equipment. With the so-called prepaid recycling fees(vRG), the vRG partners finance a nationwide take-back system.
In addition, the WEEE system Stiftung Licht Recycling Schweiz (SLRS) has merged with the SENS foundation with retroactive effect from 01.01.2021.
Deutsche Recycling will be happy to support you with its long-standing and comprehensive know-how as well as its full service. Please contact us!
Germany: reparability index to come
Modeled after the French repair index
Around the world, the mountain of electronic waste is growing unceasingly. One common reason for this is the ever-shorter useful life of the devices. According to the German government's plans, consumers should be able to have defective electrical appliances repaired more easily in the future. Similar to the Nutri-Score for food, manufacturers of electrical appliances are to provide their users with an index on the reparability of the products in the future.
"With the right to repair, we will take an important step out of the throwaway society. It makes sense to have a repairability index that shows how repair-friendly a product is," said Federal Consumer Protection Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens).
In the coalition agreement, the parties had announced a "right to repair." The reparability index is intended to provide information about the service life and reparability of a product. At the beginning of last year, such an index was already launched in France, which uses various criteria to provide information on how easy it is to repair smartphones, laptops, televisions, lawnmowers and other appliances.
There is currently no timetable for implementation in Germany that defines when the index is to be introduced. It is also questionable how useful an index is that rates each appliance category equally. The industry association BDI noted that in the case of large household appliances, it can make more ecological sense to buy new, energy-efficient products than to repair old ones.
This is how much e-waste Germany produces each year
Germany puts several million tons of electrical appliances on the market every year. It goes without saying that these do not simply belong in the household waste after their useful life - or so you would think. We have taken a closer look at how much electrical bulkhead is produced in Germany each year and how high the recycling rate is in this area.
In 2021, Austrian households collected over 616,500 tons of paper packaging, newspapers and magazines. This represents a slight increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year. Thus, the trend of the past years continues and reflects the successful path of the Austrian recycling strategy. The light packaging sector remained constant at 180,700 tons (plus 0.1 %).
The collection and recycling rate of plastic packaging must be significantly increased in the coming years. By 2025, the recycling of plastic is to be increased from the current 75,000 tons to around 150,000 tons. An ambitious goal, but one that is necessary to be able to achieve the EU targets.
Digitization plays a major role in Austria. A lot of packaging can be saved by making media such as newspapers, journals and magazines available digitally.
Austrian Battery Ordinance
New requirements for online stores from 01.01.2022
An amendment to the Battery Ordinance has been in force in Austria since July 8, 2021. This includes some changes that came into force on January 1, 2022. Among other things, regulations for authorized representatives and an information obligation for final distributors. Read our revised article to find out which regulations have been mandatory for you since the beginning of the year.
Circular economy contributes significantly to climate protection!
According to a study by the European Waste Management Association, waste management makes a significant contribution to CO₂ reduction. Based on figures obtained in 2018, the experts calculated the EU's CO₂ reduction potential by 2035 using two projections.
In conclusion, the results revealed significant amounts of avoidable CO₂ emissions from the waste types paper, glass, plastics, ferrous metals, aluminum, wood, textiles, used tires, biowaste and residual waste. If European waste legislation is successfully applied, over 150 million tons of CO₂ can be saved by 2035. These figures make it clear that waste management can make a significant contribution to achieving the European Green Deal.
The EU's self-imposed targets here call for a recycling rate of 65 percent and a cap on landfills for municipal waste of 10 percent. If these targets are met, the circular economy would subsequently play a central role in achieving the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
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