WEEE Ireland sets new records for waste electrical and battery recycling
WEEE Ireland’s 2018 recycling efforts saved the equivalent of 220,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, compared with the same items being sent to landfill
Print25 June 2019
WEEE Ireland, Ireland’s largest electrical and battery recycling scheme, exceeded national targets once again in 2018, with consumers and businesses collecting a total of 36,131 tonnes of e-waste and 856 tonnes of waste batteries for recycling.
The scheme’s annual report, published in conjunction with its AGM, revealed that WEEE Ireland recycled the equivalent of 10.2kg of e-waste per head of population last year, a new national record. The group has also achieved a 65% collection rate on behalf of its members, a year ahead of the EU WEEE Directive target in 2019.
What’s more, at a time when the country is preparing for the roll out of Ireland’s 2019 Climate Action Plan, WEEE Ireland’s 2018 recycling efforts contributed to a saving of equivalent of 220,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions as compared with the same items being sent to landfill.
With a total of 970 members as of 31 December 2018, WEEE Ireland has been chosen as the compliance scheme for the majority of producers for the 14th consecutive year. The scheme provides full compliance services to the e-waste sector, also providing services to the lighting sector and to the producers of lead acid and industrial batteries.
Among the items recycled were an estimated 3.2 million lamps and lightbulbs, 195,000 televisions and monitors and 13 million small appliances. 48% of all the e-waste recycled was large household appliances such as dishwashers, ovens and washing machines, which can be returned to retailers for free recycling upon delivery of new appliances. The report also outlines WEEE Ireland’s plans for the future, managing a new generation of emerging technologies such as PV panels, EV and hybrid batteries in the transition towards to a more circular and low carbon economy.
“It’s incredibly encouraging to see our continued progress for 2018, with Ireland again best-in-class in Europe for collection of our electrical and electronic waste,” said Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland.
“It’s also reassuring all small electrical waste is recycled at our operator’s state of the art facilities right here in Tullamore, recovering resources for use again in manufacturing,” he added. “All other waste appliances and batteries collected by WEEE Ireland are prepared for recycling in Ireland with final processing carried out at specialist partner plants.”
For further information on producer compliance and member solutions, contact the WEEE Ireland Compliance Team on 01-2999320 or info@weeeireland.ie.
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