Household electronic and electrical waste amounted to 62 billion tonnes globally or 29kg per home, new data shows today. However, only close to 9kg of e-waste was recycled per person in Galway last year.
Ahead of International E-Waste Day on Monday, October 14, the Global E-Waste Monitor 2024, reveals that nearly a quarter of e-waste ends up in household rubbish bins each year - electronics packed with precious metals, plastics and other essential materials going to waste.
The report was authored by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR ) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU ). Ireland’s largest e-waste recycling scheme, WEEE Ireland, is now calling for a change in how people view waste items such as power tools, electronic toys, mobile phones, tech gadgets and other electrical and electronic goods.
“Careless disposal represents a missed opportunity for recycling, as many of these items contain recoverable materials that can be used to make new products and squanders critical resources that are increasingly in scarce supply,” says Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland.
"Recycling e-waste should no longer be viewed as merely disposing of old electronics that can’t be repaired or reused.
“Instead, Galway people need to see it as an opportunity to recover all the valuable materials they contain. By adopting this mindset, we give a second life to items that are often considered ‘end of life’.
“The circular economy thrives when we stop thinking of these items as waste and start realising their value as resources.”
The Global E-Waste Monitor reported that 29kg of e-waste is generated per household, amounting to 62 billion tonnes globally. This contained approximately 4 billion kg of metals, including 34 million kg of cobalt and 3.9 billion kg of aluminium, crucial for the electronics industry. However, just 1% of critical raw material requirements is met by current e-waste recycling, which needs to increase to 25% under the new Critical Raw Materials Act for Ireland and EU member states.
Separate research conducted by Empathy Research for WEEE Ireland earlier this year showed that one in eight people in Ireland continues to dump small electrical items in household bins, rising to one in four among younger age groups.
WEEE Ireland was joined by members of the WEEE Forum, the organisation behind International E-Waste Day, to urge the public to stop carelessly discarding broken, unwanted electronic products with household waste. “The 844 million e-cigarettes thrown away reported in the 2024 Monitor contained enough lithium to power 15,000 electric cars," says Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum.
When properly handled, e-waste could reduce CO2 emissions by 93 million tonnes annually, equivalent to taking 20 million cars off the road. WEEE Ireland is urging the public to join the e-waste hunt and retrieve, recycle, and revive the thousands of items gathering dust in our homes. Earlier surveys have shown that European households hoard an average of 13 electronic products per home.
"Everyone is encouraged to gather unused electronic devices and appliances from their homes and bring them to designated recycling centres, electrical retailers or participate in WEEE Ireland local recycling collection events,” said Mr Donovan. “The benefits of e-waste recycling include reducing CO2 emissions, conserving raw materials, and preventing toxic substances from harming our environment. Now is the time for everyone to take responsibility and ensure that no e-waste ends up in household bins.”
WEEE Ireland has hundreds of collection points nationwide across local authority civic amenity centres, participating electrical retailers, where consumers can drop off old and broken electronic items for free recycling. For more information on recycling e-waste and upcoming free public recycling days, visit www.weeeireland.ie
