Did you know that since 01.07.2021 it has become much easier to dispose of used electrical appliances in Germany?
I admit- the way to the recycling center is useful but also annoying. Where I live the distance is about 3 km. Since 01.07. something has changed: I can return small electrical appliances (all appliances with an edge length of up to 25 cm) directly in front of my door. The only condition is that the supermarket must have more than 800 square meters of sales area and have electrical appliances in its sales range several times a year.
This should apply to pretty much every Aldi, Lidl and Saturn. Does this also work?
I tested it today at Rewe and MediaMarkt and Metro. With a broken toaster, a kettle and a cell phone under my arm, I set off.
All stores were within walking distance of each other, within a radius of 500 meters. The conclusion can be summed up in one sentence: Retailers are prepared. All the markets took back the electrical appliances without any problems.
What you perhaps do not know: You do not have to have bought the defective device there; this in the new version of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act regulated.

Background:
The EU requirement calls for a collection rate of 65%. This was recently clearly missed in Germany. Of the 20 kg of e-waste per year that everyone in Germany generates, significantly less than half (2019: 44%) is returned to the designated collection points.
In our assessment, the reform is a step in the right direction; the simpler it is to return waste, the greater the acceptance among the population will be.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)