The evaluation of the waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection masses in relation to the amounts placed on the market shows comparably low rates of about 43 to 45% in Germany for the last years. Since a minimum collection rate of 65% has to be achieved from 2019 onward, it is important to ask how the current low rates can be explained. In light of these low rates, the disposal behavior of consumers might play a significant role which is examined in this study. A survey was conducted at the end of February 2018 to assess the consumers’ behavior concerning the individual disposal of WEEE. The residents’ knowledge about the known return possibilities and the collection systems for WEEE were investigated and if disposal routes differ for large and for small devices. On top of that regional differences in disposal behavior within Germany were considered to explain in all the existing deficits in the collection rate. The consumer survey showed that predominantly regular routes for the disposal of WEEE are used and relevant quantities are not only physically “lost,” but that there are also significant deficits in the monitoring itself.

对与投放市场的数量相关的电气和电子设备 (WEEE) 垃圾收集量的评估表明，过去几年德国的比率相对较低，约为 43% 至 45%。由于从 2019 年起必须达到 65% 的最低收集率，因此重要的是要询问如何解释当前的低利率。鉴于这些低利率，消费者的处置行为可能在本研究中发挥了重要作用。2018 年 2 月末进行了一项调查，以评估消费者对单独处置 WEEE 的行为。调查了居民对已知回收可能性和 WEEE 收集系统的了解，以及大型和小型设备的处置路线是否不同。此外，德国境内处置行为的区域差异被认为可以解释所有现有的收集率不足。消费者调查显示，主要使用常规途径处理 WEEE，相关数量不仅在物理上“丢失”，而且监测本身也存在重大缺陷。