take-e-way News and Press Releases

On 9 November 2020, the new Batteries Act, or Batteries Act 2 (BattG2 for short) was published in the German Federal Law Gazette. It is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2021. The new version of the German implementation of the European Batteries Directive 2006/66/EG contains important changes that every dealer in electrical appliances / electronic equipment / electrical products containing batteries and/or accumulators should know. In this regard, additional innovations are relevant for manufacturers from abroad in addition to those based in Germany. A brief overview of the most important changes to the Batteries Act 2021 is available here.

The German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) proposes that operators of online marketplaces should be obliged to ensure compliance with the Packaging Act on their platforms. “Digital marketplaces can also do more for environmental protection. We therefore recommend that in future, all online platforms must check before selling goods whether the sellers have complied with the obligation to sign up with the Packaging Register. This should be entrenched in legislation,” said UBA President Dirk Messner, according to a UBA press release dated 18 November 2020.

On 6 November 2020, Germany’s Bundesrat approved an ordinance banning certain disposable plastic products, subject to minor semantic changes. The objective of this ordinance is to improve the management of the resource “plastic” and to curb the careless dumping of waste into the environment. With this ordinance, the German federal government implements the provisions of the European Union’s Disposable Plastics Directive into German law on a one-to-one basis. Deliberate or negligent breaches of the prohibition constitute an administrative offence under the Regulation. They can now be punished with a fine of up to 100,000 euros. According to the federal government’s plans, the ordinance is to be promulgated by the end of this year. The provisions would then take effect uniformly throughout Europe on 3 July 2021.

On 31 January 2020, the British left the European Union. During the transitional phase, the United Kingdom will continue to be part of the European single market until 31 December 2020. It is still unclear whether future relations between the EU and the United Kingdom can be settled permanently by the end of the transition period. The following is already clear at this stage: Businesses will need to adapt to change. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) offers the “Brexit Check” tool on its website, which allows you to check whether your company has taken the consequences of Brexit into account; take-e-way and trade-e-bility will assist you with product standards and compliance.

According to a report in the newspaper ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’, an American electric car manufacturer in Germany is to pay a fine of over twelve million euros. Evidently the background to this is the German Batteries Act, which stipulates that manufacturers of e-cars must take back the batteries they have sold or name a disposal partner. This regulation is alleged to have been violated by the car manufacturer concerned. If you are not registered yet but manufacture batteries or import them into Germany for the first time, take-e-way will be pleased to assist you in registering your device, industrial or vehicle batteries.

According to current information from the German Bundestag, most experts are in favour of supply chain legislation. This was revealed at a hearing of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid on the topic of “Human Rights and Business” under the leadership of Committee Chairwoman Gyde Jensen (FDP) on 28 October 2020: The experts from business circles, politics and society predominantly supported the German government's plan for such legislation intended to improve compliance with human rights and environmental standards in the global supply chains.

Article 2 of the Implementing Act of the Waste Framework Directive (German acronym: AbfRRL, printed matter 88/20) provides for an amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act in Section 18. Accordingly, the status of compliance with the quantitative targets under Section 10 (3) and Section 22 (1) of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act must be published annually by manufacturers. The law came into force yesterday.

What happens to that old hairdryer or the disused refrigerator after it ends up at the recycling yard or at the retail store? The new films produced by the EAR foundation, financed by the fees paid by manufacturers and distributors under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, provide answers and show how key raw materials are obtained without toxic substances endangering the environment and health.

In a case report released on 21 September 2020, the German Foundation Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR) describes the case involving an IT system house. Evidently a large group of affiliated IT trading companies with their own direct (IT system house) sales organisation has failed to meet its product responsibility for packaging and has been violating its obligations under packaging law for years now. The ZSVR has notified the competent state enforcement authority that there are concrete indications of regulatory offences having been committed. Possible consequence of such administrative offences include the imposition of fines, profit skimming, as well as monitoring the obligation to participate in the system retroactively for past periods. To the extent that registration and system participation per company is not yet fully in place, a distribution ban on packaging subject to system participation likewise applies by law.

On 9 October 2020, Germany’s upper house (Bundesrat) approved the implementation of the new EU Waste Framework Directive into German law. The objective is to further develop the Circular Economy Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz) ecologically in order to improve resource management and resource efficiency in Germany and, in particular, to reinforce and intensify waste avoidance. In this connection, the Bundesrat approved amendments to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG), the Packaging Act (VerpackG) as well as product responsibility of dealers regarding returns.