Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte Register (Stiftung ear)
The Stiftung ear ensures the competitive implementation of the ElektroG and BattG by fulfilling the following tasks and authorities, in particular:
Registration of producer who place electrical appliances on the market in Germany, or in the case of authorisation under § 8 ElektroG, by their authorised representatives, and verification of the guarantees to be deposited.
This means:
Every producer and each individual product in their product range must be registered with the ear foundation in order to be imported into or sold in Germany.
This can be done by the producer themselves if they are based in Germany, or by their officially appointed authorised representative by the ear foundation if the producer is based outside Germany.
Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR) / LUCID
The Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR)
was established to simplify the market surveillance of the obligations of those placing packaging on the market as well as the disposal systems. The tasks include, for example, the registration of all those placing filled packaging on the market, the receipt and verification of data reports from those placing packaging on the market and from disposal systems, and many more.
LUCID
The registration of each company that places or imports filled packaging into circulation in Germany, specifying the types of packaging, is carried out in the corresponding packaging register LUCID. The LUCID number assigned there is the registration number with the Zentralen Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR). The registration obligation has existed since July 2022 for, for examples transport packaging, reusable packaging, and commercial sales packaging.
A first distributor is a natural or legal person who places packaging or a packaged item on the market in Germany for the first time. This applies to both packaging that is self-manufactured and packaging sourced from third parties.
Producer – Who is that?
What rights and obligations exist?
Producer of electrical appliances, batteries, and packaging are subject to legal requirements specified by EU directives and further detailed in national legislations. In Germany, the ElektroG, BattG, and VerpackG play a central role in regulating the market placement of these products. Nevertheless, on the German market, the producer of the products is legally defined. The first distributor of each product is designated as the producer.
Specific requirements for producers acc. to ElektroG:
Registrations: According to ElektroG, producers must register their electrical appliances by category and brand. As proof of a legally compliant registration, producers receive a so-called WEEE registration number (WEEE-Reg.-Nr.).
Quantity Reporting: The ElektroG stipulates that producers must report the quantities of electrical appliances placed on the market, corresponding to each individual WEEE number.
Annual Reporting: Producer are required to submit annual reports on the collected waste devices.
Insolvency-Proof Guarantee: The ElektroG requires producers to provide an insolvency-proof guarantee for financing the disposal of each WEEE number.
Ear Collection Coordination: Producer must also ensure that waste devices are properly collected and disposed of when needed.
Specific requirements for producers acc. to BattG:
Registrations: As with electrical appliances, batteries are also subject to a registration obligation with the ear foundation. Batteries are categorised by type and the respective chemical system.
Additional Registration: An additional registration is required for a self-return system. This ensures fair cost distribution for the nationwide collection, sorting, and treatment of waste batteries based on the input quantity.
Quantity Reporting: Depending on the chosen battery return system and the products, monthly, quarterly, or annual reports of the quantities placed on the market are required.
Specific requirements for producers acc. to VerpackG:
System Participation: Producers must participate in a dual system or submit a declaration of completeness.
Licensing: Producers pay licensing fees for their packaging to finance the disposal infrastructure.
Quantity Reporting: Monthly, quarterly, or annual reporting of the packaging quantities placed on the market to the dual system.
Recyclability: Packaging must meet minimum requirements for recyclability.
In each legal area, products are additionally subject to labelling and information obligations.
As in many other areas, the legal requirements depend on the distribution models—B2B or B2C—and vary accordingly. However, the decisive factor is not whether the products are distributed to a dealer or specialist store, but rather where the devices might eventually be used.