Disposing of televisions properly: What you should consider

If you want to dispose of your television, there are legal guidelines for doing so. Among other things, this minimises damage to the environment

Disposing of your television: How to do it in an environmentally friendly way

You have several options for disposing of your old e-waste free of charge. It is important to note that televisions, such as old tube televisions, should not simply be put in the household waste, as they can contain materials that are harmful to the environment. This is how you get rid of your old appliance:

• Electrical retailers: If you buy a new TV set, the dealer must take back your old set free of charge. Specialist electrical retailers with a sales area of at least 400 square metres are also obliged to take back small electrical appliances with an edge length of less than 25 cm even if you do not buy a new one. This also applies to online retailers. For larger appliances, such as a television, there is no take-back obligation without a new purchase.

• Bulk waste collection: You can usually register your discarded TV for bulky waste collection, which is usually free of charge. However, there can be differences here between the individual municipalities. It is best to check with your local council in advance.

• Wertstoffhof: Most cities and municipalities in Germany operate recycling centres where citizens can drop off their old electrical appliances, including televisions. The appliances are then either recycled or disposed of properly. In most cases, the appliances are only accepted free of charge in household quantities, which can be a maximum of five televisions, for example. The municipalities determine the exact number individually.

• Donate: Before you decide to dispose of your old TV, consider whether it could still be useful to someone else. Many non-profit organisations and schools accept working electronics as donations. There are also various online platforms where you can sell or give away used electronics.

Recycling electrical appliances: This is what happens to old technology

Recycling electrical appliances aims to reuse the raw materials they contain and safely dispose of harmful components. This not only protects the environment but also reduces the consumption of primary raw materials.

• First, the collected equipment is transported to a specialised recycling facility.

• There, the appliances are first presorted and then broken down into their individual parts. Particularly valuable or harmful components are treated separately.

• After dismantling, the units are shredded in a shredder. The resulting material fragments are then separated according to type. Different processes are used, for example magnetic separation for ferrous metals and eddy current separation for non-ferrous metals.

• The separated materials are further processed and either returned to the production process as secondary raw materials or, if recycling is not possible, disposed of properly.