Skip to content 
Abfallhierarchie
When laptops, monitors or servers are replaced, reaching for the container is tempting. Waste law, however, provides a clear order: first comes continued use, then recycling, and at the very end disposal. This order is called the waste hierarchy. This glossary entry explains the five levels, what they mean legally and how to implement them when retiring IT.
In brief
The waste hierarchy is the statutory order of priority in which waste is to be avoided and managed: prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling, other recovery and disposal. In Germany it is set out in § 6 of the Circular Economy Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz), at European level in the Waste Framework Directive. For retired IT this means: continuing to use functional devices takes precedence over recycling their raw materials.
What is the waste hierarchy?
The waste hierarchy ranks all ways of dealing with waste by their benefit to people and the environment. It is based on the EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC. Germany has implemented it in the German Circular Economy Act (KrWG) § 6 (1) KrWG names five levels in a fixed order.
The term "waste" itself is important. Under § 3 (1) KrWG, waste means all substances or objects that their holder disposes of, intends to dispose of or must dispose of. A laptop that you sell so that it continues to be used generally does not become waste in the first place. That is exactly the top level of the hierarchy.
The five levels of the waste hierarchy
| Level | Meaning under the KrWG | Example from IT |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prevention | Measures before something becomes waste, such as reuse or longer service life | Resell the laptop after data erasure or pass it on internally |
| 2. Preparation for reuse | Testing, cleaning or repair of waste so that it can be used again for the same purpose | Collected old device is tested, repaired and made ready for use again |
| 3. Recycling | Processing of waste into materials or substances | Recovery of copper, aluminum and precious metals from circuit boards |
| 4. Other recovery | In particular energy recovery and backfilling | Incineration of non-recyclable plastics with energy recovery |
| 5. Disposal | Waste is disposed of without recovery, for example landfilled | Residues that can be neither recovered nor recycled |
The distinction between levels 1 and 2 sounds technical, but has consequences. The reuse concerns devices that are not waste. The Preparation for reuse concerns devices that have already been recorded as waste. For both, the same applies: the device is used again for its original purpose.
What does the waste hierarchy require?
The order of priority is not a wish but a legal yardstick. Under § 6 (2) KrWG, the measure that best ensures the protection of people and the environment should take precedence. The entire life cycle is to be considered, that is, emissions, conservation of resources, energy use and pollutants. Technical feasibility, economic reasonableness and social consequences are also taken into account. A deviation from the order is therefore possible, but must be justifiable.
For electrical and electronic equipment, the ElektroG specifies the rules. Among other things, it obliges you to check, before treating old devices, whether the device or individual components can be reused. The legal framework reflects the status as of 10/2026. This entry does not replace legal advice.
Rule of thumb: the best old device is one that never becomes waste. Only when a device can no longer be used does the path to recycling begin.
Meaning for IT hardware
For IT hardware, the top level is especially worthwhile. The largest part of a laptop’s environmental impact arises during manufacturing, not in operation. A study commissioned by the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) puts manufacturing’s share of a laptop’s greenhouse gas emissions at just under 56%, based on five years of use. Every additional period of use therefore saves resources that would otherwise be needed for a new device. More on this in the entry Carbon footprint of IT hardware.
A prerequisite for continued use is data protection. A device may only be passed on once all data has been demonstrably erased. Data carriers that cannot be erased are destroyed. The data therefore determines which level of the hierarchy is achievable – not the other way round.
Recycling remains important, but it is the third choice. In recycling, components are lost, and many raw materials can only be partially recovered. How raw materials are recovered from old devices is explained in the entry Urban mining.
Example: replacing 200 workstations
A simplified example shows how the hierarchy works in practice. A company replaces 200 laptops and 200 monitors.
- All devices are recorded with serial numbers and collected securely.
- The laptops’ data carriers are erased in a certified manner. A few defective drives are destroyed.
- Functional laptops and monitors are tested, refurbished and resold. They reach the top level.
- Devices with damage that cannot be economically repaired supply spare parts for other devices.
- What is left goes to recycling. The company receives documentation for its sustainability reporting.
Instead of disposing of 400 devices, the majority continue to be used. This conserves resources and, in the best case, brings in proceeds.
Waste hierarchy at Second IT
Second IT follows the principle "reuse before recycling". After certified data erasure with Blancco, devices are tested, repaired and refurbished and remarketed via online shop and store. If a repair is no longer economical, valuable spare parts are harvested. What can no longer be used is dismantled and recycled professionally, with recovery of metals and precious metals. Second IT is a certified waste management company under § 56 KrWG. For your CSR and ESG reporting you receive recycling and disposal documentation. More on professional IT disposal.
Distinction from related terms
The waste hierarchy is the organizing principle of waste law. The Circular economy is the overarching economic model in which products and raw materials are used for as long as possible. The hierarchy is its most important tool. The term refurbished describes a device that has been tested and refurbished – that is, the result of levels 1 and 2. Five ways to set up your own IT as a cycle are shown in our guide IT circular model. How companies prevent electronic waste from arising in the first place, you can read in avoiding e-waste.
Frequently asked questions about the waste hierarchy
Where is the waste hierarchy regulated by law?
In Germany in § 6 of the Circular Economy Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz). The European basis is Art. 4 of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC. For waste electrical equipment, the rules of the ElektroG apply in addition.
What levels does the waste hierarchy have?
Five: prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling, other recovery (in particular energy recovery) and disposal. The order indicates the priority.
Isn’t recycling just as good as reuse?
No. In recycling the device is dismantled, and only part of the raw materials can be recovered. With reuse, the entire manufacturing effort is preserved. That is why it ranks higher in the hierarchy.
May I resell a device with data in order to comply with the hierarchy?
Only after demonstrable erasure of all data. Data protection comes first. If a data carrier cannot be erased securely, it is destroyed, and the rest of the device can still be used further or recovered.
May one deviate from the order of the waste hierarchy?
Yes, but only with justification. Under § 6 (2) KrWG, the measure that best protects people and the environment takes precedence. The entire life cycle, technical feasibility, economic reasonableness and social consequences count.
Keep using instead of disposing – with data erasure and documentation for your ESG reporting.
Send us your device list. You will receive your offer in 48 hours on average.