Terms of Use
Terms of Use
WasteCulture (operated by WtERT Germany GmbH) is an online knowledge and networking platform that provides professional information, abstracts, news, and best practices in the field of waste management.
WasteCulture is co-financed by
- ia GmbH – Wissensmanagement und Ingenieurleistungen
- Bavarian State Chancellery (Tunisia Project)
- Global WtERT Council Inc.
- Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis
Operating company:
WtERT Germany GmbH
Lipowskystraße 8
81373 München (Munich), Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 89 / 189 17 87 – 0
E-Mail: info@wtert.net
USt-IdNr.: DE 265 335 543
Responsible for content: General Manager Dipl.-Ing. (TU) Werner P. Bauer
1. Eligibility
By accessing or using the Services of WtERT Germany GmbH, including the WasteCulture website, you confirm that you
•are legally capable of entering into a binding agreement;
•meet the minimum age requirement under applicable law in Germany and the EU and
•if you are accessing WasteCulture on behalf of a company, organization, or other legal entity, you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms of Use.
Access to WasteCulture is not permitted where prohibited by law.
Your access to and use of the Service is also conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with the Privacy Policy of WtERT Germany GmbH. The Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal information when you use our website, applications, or other online services, and it describes your privacy rights and how applicable data protection laws protect you.
Please read our Privacy Policy carefully before using the Service.
2. Scope of application
WtERT Germany GmbH provides its services on the basis of the present Terms of Use. The Terms of Use applicable are those provided online at the time the services of this site are used. We shall not accept provisions in derogation of these terms unless they have been confirmed by the operator of this site in writing. By using this website you explicitly confirm your agreement to these Terms of Use and without requiring any further explanation.
3. Content/Offers, Disclaimer
WtERT Germany GmbH provides own and third-party information and knowledge. The website offers a broad variety of information from scientific, governmental and non-governmental organizations, municipalities and associations, combined with product related knowledge from private companies. Any knowledge stemming from a partner company is labeled accordingly. In the event of loss or damages incurred as a result of reliance on information or content which you received whilst using the operator shall only be liable, if the damage was caused intentionally or as a result of gross negligence by any legal representative or vicarious agent of WtERT Germany GmbH or if, due to slight negligence, an obligation that is central to the contract (contractual obligation) is violated.
WtERT Germany GmbH provides only the technical medium for offers of information and knowledge products of partner companies and private persons (e.g. in discussion forums). Information provided by third parties is information pertaining to the respective originators, authors or disseminators and does not pertain to WtERT Germany GmbH. WtERT Germany GmbH shall therefore under no circumstances be liable for the accuracy or reliability of this content, information or offer. In particular, WtERT Germany GmbH shall not be liable for any losses or damages incurred by a user who has relied on such information. Contributions which could damage third parties, or which contain information purely for advertising purposes shall be deleted by the webmaster. Any infringement of criminal or competitive law shall be prosecuted immediately. The operator dissociates himself explicitly from such contributions.
The insertion of hyperlinks in our offer is merely to provide access pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 3 of the German Tele-Services Act (TDG). We are not, to any extent, responsible for the content of linked websites.
4. Proprietary Rights, Use of Content
Proprietary, copyrights and other rights of third parties accessed via WtERT Germany GmbH remain wholly pertinent to the holder of these rights and are protected accordingly. Unless stated otherwise in an individual agreement, you are granted to make some limited copies of portions of the site content provided that these copies are solely for your personal use and that you keep all copyright or other proprietary notices intact.
Distribution of the content and data obtained from WasteCulture, in any form as well as the uploading of site content to any third-party website is strictly prohibited.
It is strictly prohibited to use the WasteCulture databases for commercial purposes. Any violation thereof shall be legally prosecuted.
In closed user groups, each user receives a personal user name and password for his workplace, with which to access the site. The user agrees to maintain this information as confidential and not to pass it on to third parties. The user shall change this login information should it for any reason have become known to third parties.
Passing on database content to third parties, even in part, is strictly prohibited.
All content, materials, logos, trademarks, and software on WtERT.net or wasteculture.com are the property of WtERT Germany GmbH or ia GmbH – Wissensmanagement und Ingenieurleistungen or its licensors or knowledge partners. Users may access and use content only for personal, non-commercial purposes.
Commercial use, copying, distribution, or modification of content is prohibited without express written permission.
Encouraged Use: The use and adaptation of knowledge provided on the platform is expressly encouraged. Users are invited to adapt content for implementation in their own solutions or projects. However, such use or adaptation occurs entirely at the user’s own responsibility, and WtERT Germany GmbH assumes no liability for any results or consequences arising from the use or adaptation of the content, including the application of Best Practices or other methodologies.
5. Agreement on Goods and Services
In as far as goods or services of third parties being offered on the WasteCulture website, any agreement is made exclusively between you and the said third-party provider. Any claims are to be directed to the aforementioned third party. All offers are subject to the respective pricelist and delivery conditions of the provider valid at the time of purchase.
Example: For instance, if an abstract on the WasteCulture website refers to a scientific article that is provided for a fee by a publisher or other third party, any purchase or access to the full article is made directly with that publisher or third-party provider, and any claims or inquiries must be addressed to them.
6. Right of withdrawal
You may revoke your declaration of intent in text form (i.e. by letter, fax, e-mail) within two weeks, without provision of a reason.
The withdrawal period begins on receipt of the revocation instructions but not before the contract becomes valid and also not before our obligations in accordance with § 312c para. 2 BGB (Civil Code of Germany) in association with § 1 para. 1, 2 and 4 BGB-InfoV as well as our obligations in accordance with § 312e para. 1 sentence 1 BGB in association with § 3 BGB-InfoV are fulfilled. The revocation period shall be deemed observed if the notice of revocation is given within this period.
The revocation must be sent to:
WtERT Germany GmbH
Lipowskystraße 8
81373 München (Munich), Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 89 / 189 17 87 – 0
E-Mail: info@wtert.eu
Consequences of revocation
In the case of a valid revocation, all mutually received performances as well as emoluments taken (e.g. interest), if applicable, are to be restituted by either side. If you are unable or partially unable to restitute the merchandise to us, or if you can only restitute it in a deteriorated condition, then you are obliged to compensate for the difference in value where applicable. All reimbursement obligations must be fulfilled within 30 days of the declaration of revocation.
- END OF REVOCATION -
7. Terms of Use – Posts and Forums
By using the planned dialogue facilities (e.g. discussion forums) on the WasteCulture website you agree to restrict yourself to exchanging opinions on a professional level, to refrain from advertising and to respect the interests of others. Any violation of these terms can lead to your contributions being removed and your membership barred.
8. Commitment when using your own Expert Site – members and experts
Users of WasteCulture are either members or experts. If you wish to view specific content from the WasteCulture website you must become a free WasteCulture member. If you wish to have access to the planned contact tool in order to be able to communicate with WasteCulture experts, you must enter some minimal information in your own Expert Site. Please select your geographical and thematic areas of expertise by entering the countries you are interested in and setting tags. You also agree that your profile picture and details may be displayed on wtert.net according to your thematic and geographical focus.
You guarantee that you own all required rights to photos or text you post on the site, or that you have the author’s written consent to post and publish this copyrighted content on the websites listed in "1 - Scope of application”. This refers in particular to up-loaded paper abstracts, where the expert is obliged to link to official sites where users can procure the whole text of the paper.
In addition, the user guarantees, when posting a photo or text to the site, that the posted content does not violate applicable laws, is not contra bonos mores and does not violate the rights of third parties (name, trademark, copyright, data protection rights, etc.).
In particular, it is prohibited to either directly or indirectly, or by linking to other websites, distribute content that is unlawful, offensive, upsetting, intended to disgust, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable. Examples of objectionable or prohibited content include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Content that is unlawful, promotes unlawful activity, or violates applicable German or EU law.
- Content that is pornographic, glorifies violence, incites hatred, or promotes discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or political belief.
- Defamatory, insulting, or mean-spirited content, including references or commentary about religion, race, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups.
- Spam, machine- or randomly-generated content, unauthorized advertising, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any form of gambling or lottery.
- Content containing or installing viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses, or other code designed to disrupt, damage, or limit functionality of software, hardware, or communications systems, or to obtain unauthorized access to data or information.
- Content infringing any intellectual property rights of others, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, or rights of publicity.
- Impersonation of any person or entity, including WtERT Germany GmbH, its partners, or representatives.
- Violation of the privacy, data protection, or personal rights of others.
- False or misleading information or features intended to deceive or manipulate other users.
WtERT Germany GmbH further reserves the right to make formatting and edits and change the manner of any Content. The Company can also limit or revoke the use of the platform if you post such objectionable Content. As WtERT Germany GmbH cannot control all content posted by users and/or third parties on the platform, you agree to use the platform at your own risk. You understand that by using the platform you may be exposed to content that you may find offensive, indecent, incorrect or objectionable, and you agree that under no circumstances will WtERT Germany GmbH be liable in any way for any content, including any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any content.
9. Intellectual Property Infringement
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is Our policy to respond to any claim that Content posted on the platform infringes a copyright or other intellectual property infringement of any person.
If you are a copyright owner, or authorized on behalf of one, and you believe that the copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement that is taking place through the platform, you must submit your notice in writing to the attention of our copyright agent via email ([COPYRIGHT_AGENT_CONTACT_EMAIL]) and include in your notice a detailed description of the alleged infringement.
Should a claim be raised against the Operator for infringement of the law, (violation of copyright, of general personal rights or any other infringement of rights), the User indemnifies the Operator from all claims by third parties.
10. Content Backups
Although regular backups of Content are performed, WtERT Germany GmbH does not guarantee there will be no loss or corruption of data.
Corrupt or invalid backup points may be caused by, without limitation, Content that is corrupted prior to being backed up or that changes during the time a backup is performed.
The Company will provide support and attempt to troubleshoot any known or discovered issues that may affect the backups of Content. But you acknowledge that WtERT Germany GmbH has no liability related to the integrity of Content or the failure to successfully restore Content to a usable state.
You agree to maintain a complete and accurate copy of any Content in a location independent of the platform.
11. Access Authorisation
The Operator reserves the right to refuse allocation of user names and passwords or to cancel login data within seven days without giving any reason. The right to terminate the agreement without notice of reason is however exercised, in particular, if
a) incorrect data is supplied on registering
b) our services are misused in any way
c) our services are damaged or their functionality impaired
d) the Terms of Use are breached in any way.
12. Site Availability
There is no entitlement to constant, uninterrupted availability of our sites. The Operator does not accept any liability for the temporary unavailability of the sites due to maintenance work or technical problems or other causes beyond WtERT Germany GmbH’s control.
13. Data Protection
See Privacy Policy in "8 - Commitment when using your own Expert Site”.
14. Other Provisions
When this agreement stipulates the written form, this includes messages by email, fax and letter. The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany govern the legal relationship of the User and WtERT Germany GmbH.
15. Severability Clause
If and to the extent that any provision of this Agreement or any future provision of it be deemed void or unfeasible or lose its validity or feasibility, this shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Agreement. The invalid, unfeasible, or incomplete provision or provisions shall be replaced with appropriate and currently valid legal provisions. The same shall apply if the Terms of Use contain omissions.
Date of last edit: 2025 October 18