Online shops and obligation to take back electrical appliances

In a recent judgment, the Landgericht Duisburg ruled that the obligation to take back old electronic devices also applies to online shops. Such a company may not refer to the take-back options of third-party service providers, but must offer the take-back itself .

The prerequisite for this obligation is, of course, that the 400 sqm of retail space required by Section 17 of the Law on the placing on the market, take-back and environmentally sound disposal of electrical and electronic equipment must be disposed of. warehouses and/or shipping areas (Section 2 of the ElektroG).

The court also emphasized in the procedure sought by Deutsche Umwelthilfe that it would not be sufficient for the commissioned third party to offer a sufficient disposal facility already in the first e-mail.

However, the judgment is not yet final and it is therefore likely that an appeal will be brought. However, further warnings by the German Environmental Aid are certainly not excluded due to this partial success.