Produktverantwortung von Drittlandherstellern im Onlinehandel

The results of a research project regarding proposals for closing a legal loophole exploited by so-called „third country free-riders“ form the basis for this article. Producers seated outside the EU often fail to comply with waste-law producer responsibility when selling electrical equipment, batteries and packaging via electronic marketplaces in Germany. To date, electronic marketplace operators and fulfilment service providers are not obliged to ensure that dealers operating on their premises comply with waste-law registration and notification obligations, and German authorities cannot take effective action against „third country free-riders“ who do not contribute to the costs of collecting and disposing of waste electrical and elecronic equipment, spent batteries and packaging waste. In this project, various solutions are developed and examined for their compatibility with higher-ranking legislation. From these, compulsory verification for electronic marketplace operators and fulfilment service providers is proposed as the most promising option. This would mean that, before products are offered on marketplaces and/or sent to customers, it should be ensured that the producers have fulfilled their registration/ notification obligations.