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The German ElektroG
The German ElektroG requires the collection and recycling of EEE beginning March 24th,
2006. Communities, Disposal and recycling schemes have faced the challenge and developed
concepts for the WEEE compliant treatment of electrical and electronic waste.
The German ElectroG is controlling the take-back and the environmental compliant
materialisation/disposal of some 1,1 Million Tons used equipment such as washing machines,
dish washers, fridges, televisions, computers, cell phones or electrical tools. The
financial and legal responsibility for the logistic, materialisation and recycling is transferred to
the manufacturers and importers. The communities collect WEEE from private households
independently. Commercial waste is normally not disposed of via the communal waste
collection.
The German ElectroG is controlling the take-back and the environmental compliant
materialisation/disposal of some 1,1 Million Tons used equipment such as washing machines,
dish washers, fridges, televisions, computers, cell phones or electrical tools. The
financial and legal responsibility for the logistic, materialisation and recycling is transferred to
the manufacturers and importers. The communities collect WEEE from private households
independently. Commercial waste is normally not disposed of via the communal waste
collection.
The aim of those directives is to make the manufacturers responsible for the
recycling/dematerialisation of their products when they become waste. The transformation of
those directives into national law in the various EU member states constitutes the legal
foundation to cope with the vast amounts of WEEE. Recycling and dematerialisation for the
sake of the environment is clearly gaining ground.
The directives demand that the transposition into national law in the various EU-Member
states must be accomplished by August 13th, 2004. However this date has been postponed in
most of the EU member states until summer 2005. Germany has transposed the WEEE and
RoHS directives into one common law (The Electrical- and Electronic Law – “ElektroG)”. The
ElektroG has been ratified in Germany in March 2005.
Klauke Textron as a manufacturer of electrical connectors and crimping tools serving both the
electrical and plumbing business is a certified Eco-business
(Eco-business.pdf)
and faces actively the challenges of environmental and health protection. With this attitude we
pick up the requirements of the EU directive 2002/95/EC for the restriction of hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) and the directive 2002/96/EC for the
collection and the environmentally friendly recycling of EEE and work towards environmentally
friendly design solutions.
According to the ElektroG, released to the public March 23rd, 2005 in the Federal Law Gazette
it is prohibited to put on market new electrical and electronic equipment which contains more
than 0.1% by weight for lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls
(PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and 0.01% by weight for cadmium per
homogeneous material.
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