Making devices last

Last checked: 18.10.2026

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Borrow instead of buying, check battery and updates when you buy, repair instead of binning, return old devices properly – electrical goods in Berlin.

Smartphone, toaster, drill: you reduce a device's environmental impact above all by using it for as long as possible – the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) stresses this using smartphones and tablets as an example [2]. And if something breaks, a repair is almost always better for the environment than buying new [1]. This guide follows the life of a device: from purchase and use to its return.

Before you buy: do you need it new?

Devices you rarely use, such as a drill, can be borrowed instead of bought; many cities have libraries of things for this [3]. The area “Make things last” shows where you can borrow things in Berlin (see below). Second-hand electronics are usually cheaper than new ones, and tested, refurbished devices come with a statutory warranty [3].

Buy with a long life in mind

For smartphones and tablets, the German Environment Agency recommends a battery that you can replace yourself without special tools – or asking what it costs to have a built-in battery replaced by the service centre [2]. Also ask how long the manufacturer will provide security updates: the Blue Angel eco-label (Blauer Engel) requires at least four years for mobile phones [2]. Since 20 June 2025, smartphones and tablets have carried the EU energy label, which also includes information on durability and repairability [4]. For fridges and the like, on the other hand, replacing a working appliance is usually not worth it – more on this in the guide “Saving electricity at home”.

Look after batteries

Lithium-ion batteries last longer if you don't let them run completely flat and ideally stop charging at around 70 per cent [2]. Heat makes batteries age faster – so don't leave them in a hot car or on a sunny windowsill [2].

Repair instead of binning

If a device is less than two years old and has a defect, you are entitled to a statutory warranty claim (Gewährleistung) against the retailer; in that case, don't repair it yourself [1]. In principle, you can choose whether the device is repaired or replaced with a new one [1]. For devices you bought on or after 31 July 2026, the following also applies: if the defect is fixed by a repair, the statutory warranty period is extended once by twelve months – and the retailer must tell you about both, your right to choose and the extension, beforehand [8].

For everything else there are specialist repair shops and repair cafés; for this, the Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR), Berlin's public waste collection and street cleaning company, refers to the quality repair network repami [5], and hauptstadt.net shows checked repair places (see below). Berlin's repair subsidy, the ReparaturBONUS, is currently not accepting new applications because the funds have been used up [6].

Returning devices properly

Electrical devices never belong in household waste, and devices with batteries do not belong in the recycling bin (Wertstofftonne) either – a damaged battery can start a fire [5]. Take out batteries beforehand if possible [5]. The BSR's 14 recycling centres (Recyclinghöfe) accept large and small devices free of charge [5][7]; if you book a bulky-waste collection, the BSR takes them away at no extra charge [5].

Retailers must take devices back too: shops with at least 400 square metres of sales area for electrical goods take back an old device of the same type free of charge when you buy a new one there; small devices with an edge length of up to 25 centimetres can be handed in there even without a purchase, up to three per type of device [9]. The same applies to food shops with a total sales area of at least 800 square metres that offer electrical goods permanently or several times a year; for online retailers, storage and shipping areas count [9]. Don't give old devices to dealers who try to take them off you in front of the recycling centres: according to the BSR, they do not guarantee environmentally sound disposal [5]. Anything that still works can be given away – see the guide “Passing on things in good condition”.

Places and events

Borrow devicesMake things last · 8 places

Get electrical devices repaired or repair them yourselfRepair · 19 places

Recycling centres and drop-off pointsMake things last · 13 places

Repair café datesRepair · 44 events

GuideGetting things repaired or repairing them yourself

GuideDisposing of things properly in Berlin