Over 570 tonnes of electrical waste collected in Offaly
Last year, WEEE Ireland collected collected 31,000 tonnes of electrical and electronic waste for recycling nationally, with over 570 tonnes collected in Offaly.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment company found that over 9 electrical items were collected per Offaly household for recycling in 2015.
That’s an average of 7kg of electrical waste recycled per person in the county, which is almost double the original EU target of 4kg per head.
WEEE Ireland says approximately 75% of Offaly householders are now actively recycling their electrical and battery waste.
Meanwhile, WEEE Ireland have called Ireland a “recycling champion” with consumers recycling 15% more than they did four years ago, placing us top of the EU table.
Over 30,000 tonnes of electrical waste came from WEEE Ireland collections days that were held thoughout the county.
It collected approximately 13 million household appliances for recycling in 2015 alone. Irish retailers account for over half of the waste collected showing a significant increase documented in the 12-month period from 2014 to 2015. This means that Ireland has the highest percentage take-back through retailers in the EU.
WEEE Ireland’s report also shows that an equivalent to 28 million AA batteries and 3 million lamps were collected for recycling during 2015.
Benefits
The WEEE recycling processes ensure heavy metals, chemicals and other potential environmental hazards are captured and managed in an environmentally responsible way; recycling electrical waste and batteries recovers resources for use again in manufacturing – part of the drive toward circular rather than wasteful economical models in Europe; the correct recycling of fridge freezers by WEEE Ireland has seen over 5,700 tonnes of CO2 equivalent gases being diverted from entering the atmosphere in 2015.
Top tips
• Keep recyclables out of landfill and your black bin by recycling responsibly
• Local Civic Amenity recycling centres offer FREE recycling of all electrical and battery waste
• Retailers will take back waste electrical items for recycling on purchase of a new item. Larger retailers will also take back small gadgets with no purchase necessary
• Any shop selling batteries will recycle your waste batteries for free
• WEEE Ireland host public collection events where energy saving light bulbs, electrical and battery waste can all be recycled for free
• WEEE Ireland thank you for your support to date and ask everyone to KEEP WEEE RECYCLING!
For more information on WEEE Ireland then log on to www.weeeireland.ie