Westmeath householders are being urged to bring their batteries, electrical, and electronic waste to a free collection day to help the county meet national e-waste recycling targets for 2023.
The event, hosted by WEEE Ireland in partnership with Lidl, takes place on Thursday, July 27, at the Lidl car park, Old Dublin Road, Clongawny, Mullingar, from 10am-4pm.
All household items with a plug or a battery will be accepted free of charge, including old washing machines, TVs, toasters and kettles, electronic tools and toys, cables, IT equipment, mobile phones, remote controls, batteries, including farm fence batteries, and even watches.
“In Westmeath, and across Ireland, we are buying more electrical goods than ever – with people purchasing an average 25kg per head in 2022 compared to 22kg in 2021. Shopping stats show a surge in spend on new electrical devices like mobile phones, computers, small kitchen appliances and white goods.
“With old items still lying around many households we want to offer the opportunity to recycle these for free. People in Westmeath have contributed greatly to e-waste recycling every year, with 907 tonnes of electrical waste collected in the county in 2022, and we want to encourage that trend," WEEE Ireland CEO Leo Donovan, said.
A total of 9.47kg of e-waste was recycled per person in Westmeath last year – falling short of the national average of 10.03kg per person.
WEEE Ireland warns that the nation needs to meet a forthcoming EU target to recycle at least 15% of our annual consumption of critical raw materials from e-waste.
“A total of 82% of all material that we collect is recovered for use again in manufacturing through both indigenous operators and specialist processors in Europe. Most end-of-life products contain metals and minerals in higher concentrations than primary resources.
“These stocks of resources are the urban mines of the future, so our recycling efforts can have a significant impact on the environment," Mr Donovan added.
In 2022, the equivalent of 216,157 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided by recycling e-waste through the WEEE Ireland Scheme as opposed to landfilling. That is the equivalent of the annual carbon consumption of 4,323 hectares of trees.
WEEE Ireland accounts for over two thirds of all national waste electrical and electronics collection activity on behalf of 1,300 producer members. These free events are in partnership with Lidl.
“Recycling e-waste is incredibly beneficial for both the environment and the economy and together, we are diverting waste from landfill, recovering raw materials for reuse and ensuring hazardous materials are safely and responsibly disposed of. We look forward to working with Wicklow householders to hopefully recycle a record-breaking amount of electronic waste in 2023," Mr Donovan concluded.
