Battery Disposal

Note on the disposal of used batteries The following note is intended for those who use batteries or products with built-in batteries and do not resell them in the form in which they were delivered (end users):

1. Free return of used batteries

Batteries must not be disposed of with household waste. You are legally obliged to return used batteries so that they can be disposed of properly. You can return used batteries to a municipal collection point or to a local retailer. As a distributor of batteries, we are also obliged to take back used batteries, whereby our take-back obligation is limited to used batteries of the type that we carry or have carried in our range as new batteries. You can therefore either return used batteries of the aforementioned type to us with sufficient postage or hand them in free of charge at our shipping warehouse at the address stated in the imprint.

2. Meaning of the battery symbols

Batteries are marked with the symbol of a crossed-out wheelie bin (see below). This symbol indicates that batteries must not be disposed of with household waste. For batteries that contain more than 0.0005% mercury, more than 0.002% cadmium, or more than 0.004% lead by weight, the chemical name of the respective pollutant is located below the trash can symbol – “Cd” stands for cadmium, “Pb” stands for lead, and “Hg” stands for mercury.

3. Vehicle batteries

When selling vehicle batteries (i.e., batteries intended for use in the starter motor, lighting, or ignition of vehicles), the following special provisions apply: Pursuant to Section 10 of the German Battery Act (BattG), the seller is obliged to charge end users a deposit of €7.50 including VAT per vehicle battery if the end user does not return an old vehicle battery to the seller at the time of purchasing the new vehicle battery. The customer receives a deposit voucher when purchasing a vehicle battery. The customer can return the old vehicle battery to the seller in order to receive a refund of the deposit. Due to the dangerous goods regulations, it is not permitted to send the old vehicle battery to the seller. Alternatively, the customer can return the old vehicle battery to a collection point set up by the public waste disposal authority. If the old vehicle battery is not returned to the seller who collected the deposit, the person authorized to collect it in accordance with Section 11 (3) BattG who takes back the old vehicle battery is obliged to confirm the return to the end user in writing or electronically upon request, without refunding the deposit. In this case, the customer will be refunded the deposit by the seller if they provide the seller with written or electronic proof of return in accordance with Section 10 (1) sentence 4 BattG, which must not be older than two weeks at the time of submission.

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