Category: News

Resident’s Electrical Recycling Collections – Free in 2026

On By JMCEIn Collections, Dublin, Electronic and Electrical Recycling, Electronic Equipment, Family, NewsLeave a comment

Open for 2026 Enquiries and Bookings.

As we welcome 2026, Recycle IT is inviting residents’ associations, tidy towns groups, and community committees to take the lead in making your estate greener. We encourage associations to organise an early-year electrical and pure metal recycling collection, bringing together householders, families, friends, and neighbours to take part.

By working together as a community, we can significantly increase our electrical recycling rate per person. In 2023, this figure stood at just 9.51 kg per person — roughly the weight of nine electric kettles. Surely, as organised and engaged communities, we can do better than that!

Let your residents’ association be the catalyst for positive change in the New Year. Book a collection early, boost participation across your estate, and help set a higher recycling standard for 2026 and beyond.

With one in eight people in Ireland still dumping small electrical items in household bins we want to help you safely recycle any old, unwanted or unused electrical stuff from around the house. This includes kettles, cookers, TVs, washing machines, games consoles, batteries, phones, computers, metals, and electronic toys; the list really is endless.

Recycle IT work in partnership with Residents Groups across Dublin. Our teams can collect all types of household and small office waste electrical, electronic and pure metal equipment from residents. The collection is door to door, free and our teams collect weekly Monday to Friday.

Presenting Your Recycling for Collection

Once local residents know a collection is scheduled people can easily assemble old electrical, electronic and metal equipment and have it out and ready and out for collection by 9am on collection day. If people need help please do lend a hand to get their items out for colleciton or let our team know in advance?

Items for collection can be placed at the front of your home within reach of the pavement (e.g., in your drive) but not on the pavement so as to block access.

Your electrical waste should not be placed in refuse sacks or covered. Please ensure electrical and metal waste items are easily accessible. If items are hidden behind a locked gate or a parked car, we may not be able to see or collect your items. Our teams will accept electrical and metal waste at no cost once used in your home or small office.

You can click here for a list of items collected (PDF Files for electrical and metal items)

In the case of unforeseen circumstances such as poor weather conditions, vehicle breakdowns, roadworks or other incidents, we may be delayed, but we will do our best to keep groups updated and we will work to catch up throughout the day.

On request, we can enter homes at the ground floor level only. Residents should remain at a safe distance from our team. It is preferable if items for recycling are outside.

Working Together

Our authorised WEEE collections are offered in association with Residents’ Associations. Each group helps by providing details on the number of homes in the area, names of roads, and promotion of the event to householders through social media, email, leaflets newsletter etc. Recycle IT can provide further information on request.

Please note: Today our resident collections are provided free of charge to Residents’ Associations in South Dublin, Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT an award-winning community recycler wishes to build on Ireland’s recycling success story and help increase the 10.9 KG of waste electrical and electronic equipment collected yearly per inhabitant in Ireland. (recorded in 2017)

We are inviting resident associations and community groups including tidy towns to speak with us about arranging a FREE collection in your area over the coming months.

Our team will accept old household electrical items, and office electrical items alongside your garden power tools and pure metal equipment. We can also accept commercial appliances but do call in advance.

Recycle IT as a social enterprise works in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT is supported by Pobal, South Dublin County Council and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office. Recycle IT are an active member of Community Resources Network Ireland (CRNI).

To learn more about recycling electrical equipment please call Recycle IT at 01 4578321, email us or visit www.recycleit.ie

Recycle IT Truck

Gaming Consoles – Recycle Safely

On By JMCEIn Climate change, Collections, Computer Recycling, Dublin, Electronic and Electrical Recycling, Family, News, Social EnterpriseLeave a comment

Best Selling

30 years ago, on September 9, 1995, the original PlayStation made its debut in North America, ringing in an era of gaming success for Sony. The chart below from Statista shows, the original PlayStation is the fourth best-selling home console of all time, beaten only by the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch and its own successor, the PlayStation 2, which sold 160 million units over its lifetime. Source: Statista Research Department.

Benefits

Did you know there are benefits to playing videogames? A National Institutes of Health study of nearly 2,000 children found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Other reported benefits include improved problem-solving skills and logic, increased hand-to-eye coordination, greater multi-tasking ability and faster and more accurate decision-making.

Photo by JESHOOTS.com on Pexels.com

Generally games consoles are devices designed for the sole purpose of playing video games usually at home. A games console is really a computer used to play video or virtual games, on a TV or monitor. Some devices are very portable and are handheld with screens.

Some Facts

Ireland’s total video games revenue was €397m in 2024 and it is expected to reach €503m by 2029. Social and casual gaming (online gaming) totaled €180m in 2024 and will rise to €240m in 2029 with a 5.9% CAGR. A paradigm shift in Ireland’s video games market will come in 2029, when social/casual gaming revenue will overtake traditional gaming (physical gaming on PCs and games consoles)

There are nine console generations, with the current leading providers being Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo with the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch used to play games like FIFA 22, Farming Simulator 22 and Minecraft. You can also watch Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus on your games console.

Games Console, Controllers and Games – Recycle IT

Games are either downloaded directly onto the device via the internet online store or inserted into the device as a disc or card.

Many game consoles and games are aimed at children There is no official or recommended age for a child to have or use a games console. Video games are given age ratings similar to movies.

In general, using a game console with your children is fun. Adults can refamiliarise themselves with gaming, how new games work and how children are likely to use them. This can be a great way to show responsible and positive use of technology and show your child you are interested in what they do!

Reuse and Repair

After many years of fun, your game’s console may need to be updated with new software or hardware (if possible) or if damaged it can be repaired for reuse. There are several repair options available and they should be considered before saying goodbye to your console.

Saying goodbye isn’t always easy. After all, you likely spent many in-game hours together playing a starring role for your favourite sports team. Your console has likely brought you, your family and friends, many moments of joy and frustration.

However, the time will come to move on to a new console. With new console releases never far away you might consider a replacement. But before you do that, there are some important things that you need to do to stay cyber-safe (and keep your information and payment details safe).

Here are some steps to take before you sell, donate, or recycle your old console:

Games Console and Controller

Today many consoles are backwards compatible. This means that some, or most of the games from your old consoles should work with the new device To save your old games you can back your data up by:

  • Saving your data to an external hard drive.
  • Transferring your data from the old console to the new console by linking via a network.
  • Saving your data to a cloud service for your system.

Your gaming console can have personal information stored. Anything from email addresses to multiple credit card numbers to social media and cloud streaming accounts. If in the wrong hands, this can cause you lots of problems.

You can remove all your accounts from your console. In the setting menu, you can usually delete your credit card information, email addresses, social media links, or linked accounts. For purchased apps, you can sign out and manage your account information in your app settings.

A further option involves resetting the console back to when you first removed it from the box as new. Doing this reset will also make all of the information that was saved inaccessible through the user interface. You can usually do a reset in the settings menu.

Safe Recycling

Now that you have backed up your files and reset your console back to factory settings you may wish to dispose of the device in the waste or recycling bin. Please Don’t

Proper disposal including disposal of cables and chargers is important particularly if you didn’t try the above. Remember is also bad for the environment if you don’t recycle carefully

Games Console

Try the following

  • Reuse your console by gifting it to someone you know.
  • Donate your console to a local youth or community organisation,
  • Resell your device after wiping or destroying the hard disk drive / returning to factory settings.
  • Recycle your console instead of throwing it into the bin.
  • Recycle your console cables and related equipment at the same time!

Because electronics contain many damaging chemicals and reusable parts you should recycle safely at a dedicated e-recycling centre like Recycle IT. If you can’t or don’t wish to wipe the hard disk drive within the console before recycling, Recycle IT can help.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT, is an award-winning social enterprise offering electrical, electronic and metal recycling services through drop-off and collection. Recycling services are provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland and South Dublin County Council.

Recycle IT is supported by Pobal and Dormant Accounts and authorised by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across the east midlands waste region.

Our goal is to create training and employment opportunities through the provision of waste management services. Surplus earned income is reinvested in operational, and employment-related costs.

For more information on Recycle IT please call 01 4578321, email info@recycleit.ie or visit our website www.recycleit.ie

Recycle IT – Dublin City Social Enterprise Awardee 2025

Recycling Collections – Bogus – Fake – Phony

On By JMCEIn Dublin, Electronic and Electrical Recycling, NewsLeave a comment

Be Careful with “Free Recycling Day” Flyers

At certain times of the year, you might receive a flyer advertising free recycling days for old, broken, or unused items. These events may offer to collect household or office items such as clothes, metal, electrical goods, or garden tools.

It sounds like a great idea — a chance to reduce waste, recycle, and clear clutter from your home or workplace. But have you ever stopped to think that some of these collectors might be unregulated or even illegal?

For example, a flyer promoting a “Free Jumble Recycling Day” might offer to take items like car batteries, laptops, TVs, or wardrobes — things that usually can’t go in a regular recycling bin and often require a licensed collection or drop-off at a recycling centre.

Bogus Recycling
Real or Unreal – Household Recycling Flyer

These flyers are usually bogus, should be ignored and handing items over can lead to illegal dumping of your stuff and penalties if the material is identified as belonging to you!

Bogus Recycling – a reality

Think about it, when you take the time to carry your old TV or radio down the stairs, you might actually be handing it over to someone who simply loads it up onto a truck for delivery to a developing country or alternatively takes a few parts out and leaves the remainder on an Irish county road in the dark of night.

Is handing these items to a no-named collector in a non-authorized or unlicensed waste collection van the right choice?

Old Electrical Items - Recylce IT
Electrical Appliances for Recycling – Recycle IT

Unofficial Collectors 

Depending on market prices collectors can generate an income by sending products to other countries or simply by dumping the items. This is particularly true for recycling computers, tablets, TV monitors, printers and other electronic items. Recycling electrical and electronic items officially costs more in Europe but the collector can get paid for exporting them to buyers in developing countries who will remove the metals for resale but won’t pay to protect their staff or their communities from the toxic emissions and waste.

As the price of metal increases washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers are becoming increasingly attractive items for unofficial recyclers. These items are stripped locally and unprofitable waste is disposed of in hedgerows and fields making our communities untidy, dismal and possibly toxic places to live.

Costs of Illegal Dumping

More than 60,000 instances of illegal dumping have cost Dublin City Council more than €5.2 million to remove since 2019, according to figures published in the Irish Times,15 Sept 2024. In South Dublin the cost was estimated at €127,000 per month for 2023. This spending on clean up and similar amounts from other county councils areas could be saved and reinvested in local communities if illegal collection and dumping could be stopped.

Electrical Waste for Collection – Recycle IT

The disposal of rubbish in any area of land in Ireland without licensed approval and permission is illegal. It is punishable by fines from €150 up to €10 million upon conviction and 10 years imprisonment. In order to know more about a bogus collection, we have compiled the list below.

14 tips on spotting a Bogus Recycling Collection?

  1. The leaflet presenting the collections service is of low quality.
  2. The collector does not provide a waste facility address on leaflets
  3. The waste facility license number is not visible on the leaflet.
  4. There is no landline telephone listed on printed materials.
  5. The phone is never answered when called.
  6. An email address is omitted from the flyer or poster.
  7. The collector has no website or social media presence.
  8. Collection vehicles don’t have a waste collection permit number on display. (required by law)
  9. Collections are made outside of traditional business hours.
  10. Collection representatives don’t have any formal identification.
  11. Only certain waste items are collected i.e. the most valuable.
  12. A bogus charity may be named on the collection flyers or posters.
  13. No help or support is offered to move or lift heavy electrical items from homes or businesses.
  14. No personal service or advice is offered on recycling different products.

It’s complicated!

It’s not easy to determine whether a recycler is exporting or illegally dumping your once loved stuff including electrical or electronic waste like hairdryers or phones. You can’t just go by what they say! Some will use environmental or charitable causes that sound good, but they are still unofficial. If you have a gut feeling it’s not right, follow that feeling and don’t leave the items out for collection.

Ask yourself the question – Who’s Paying?

One way to determine an official collector versus an unofficial collector is to figure out who is paying the recycling cost. If it’s free for you to recycle, then who is paying? A manufacturer? The State? Local Authority? If you are not paying, and there is no clear sponsor paying the costs for collection and recycling, please question the validity of the collector.  For example, Recycle IT is a social enterprise that received some funds and also generates an income from responsible recycling.

Official Electrical Recycling Collection - Recycle IT
Official Electrical Recycling Collection – Recycle IT

County Councils across Dublin at different times have warned residents to ignore these types of collections promoted by paper recycling flyers that have been put through letterboxes. They generally have no waste permit or collection permit numbers noted.

It’s worth noting, that it is an offence for any person to hand over their waste for disposal to an unauthorised waste collector. Fines of up to €5,000 may be imposed on individuals upon conviction in the District Court.

You must always ensure that any company or person you engage to collect your waste possesses a valid Waste Collection Permit. Any reputable waste collector is obliged to display the waste collection permit number on all vehicles, flyers and receipts.

You can check if the waste collector is authorised on the National Waste Collection Permit Office website; http://www.nwcpo.ie/permitsearch.aspx and enter details in an advanced search.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is the only Community Electronic Recycling Social Enterprise in Dublin providing a neighbourhood collection service for all types of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). In 2021 Recycle IT offered collection services to thousands of homes, community groups and businesses across Dublin and surrounding areas collecting a range of WEEE including monitors, computers, cookers, and TV equipment.

Recycle IT services are provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development. Pobal, South Dublin County Council and authorised by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

Visit our website for further details or call 01 4578321.

Recycle IT are Awardee’s: Dublin City Social Enterprise Award 2025 and the Nancy Ward Circular Economy Award 2025

Pure Metal Recycling with Recycle IT

On By JMCEIn Climate change, Dublin, Electronic and Electrical Recycling, News, Social Enterprise, We Recycle IT2 Comments

Metal Recycling

Metal is just one of many materials we use daily in our lives and it is really worth recycling when it has served its purpose.

Here are 5 simple facts about metal recycling for reuse:

  1. Metal can be recycled endlessly without losing quality, making it highly sustainable.
  2. Recycling metal saves up to 95% of the energy used to produce new metal from raw materials.
  3. Aluminium and steel are among the most commonly recycled metals worldwide.
  4. Reused metals are vital for making new products like electronics, cars, and building materials.
  5. Recycling reduces mining, conserves natural resources, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Household Metal for Recycling

The type of objects that can be recycled includes aluminium and steel cans, electrical appliances, silverware, legs from office desks and chairs, old household pots and pans, cooking and baking equipment, school, office or sports lockers, gates, step ladders or zippers, the list is endless.

We recently learned that recycling one aluminium food/drinks cansavees enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours and if that’s not enough, the amount of aluminium thrown away annually in the U.S. would rebuild their commercial air fleet four times per year.

There are interesting facts below which we hope will encourage you to think about metal as a scarce resource and not just scrap. Without metal to manufacture, our daily trips to school by car or bus or our annual holidays by train, ferry or plane might not be as easy or affordable.

Interesting metal recycling facts

  1. Metal recycling is good for the national economy and the environment, e.g., increased local employment and reduced emissions.
  2. Recycling one tonne of steel saves 1,136 kg of iron ore, 454 kg of coal and 18 kg of limestone
  3. You can test which metal is in your bin by using a magnet. Aluminium metal is non-magnetic whereas steel is magnetic. (Great learning for kids)
  4. Drinks cans are made from aluminium while food cans are usually made from steel.
  5. Metal recycling helps create new products once the original items have reached the end of their useful life.
  6. Recycling scrap metals including iron and aluminium can benefit local construction projects such as roads and bridges.
  7. Scrap metals are refashioned for use in creating bikes, cars, aircraft and other modes of transportation.
  8. The United States of America annually recycles enough ferrous scrap, by weight, to build more than 900 of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridges.
  9. Scrap metals aid in the storage and transportation of goods across the world with many shipping containers created from recycled metal.
  10. Reusing scrap metal has supported many industries to reduce their environmental impact e.g. reduced mining of natural and scarce resources.
  11. Recycled aluminium can be melted at a much lower temperature than new aluminium, therefore, saving on energy.
  12. Scrap metal recycling helps reduce Co2 emissions created through mining, transport, and smelting.
  13. Recycled, reused or re-purposed metals can be used to make beautiful and durable home furnishing and decorations. Think about the festive season!
  14. Recycling scrap metal reduces the need for landfill sites and leads to a positive effect on water supply, soil, and land usage.
  15. A computer contains around 1.5 kg of copper, a typical home about 100 kg and a wind turbine 5 tons.
  16. In 2014, 2.1 million tons of copper were reused in Europe, coming from end-of-life products and directly recycled factory waste.
  17. China is the world’s second-largest user of steel scrap after the EU.
  18. Steel products can be recycled repeatedly without loss of strength.
  19. One scrapped car produces more than four steel street light posts.
Metal Pots and Pans

Did you know?

Aluminium is made from a mined ore called Bauxite, which is converted into alumina, a fine white powder. This powder is then smelted at over 700°C, to become aluminium. The process is expensive and uses lots of resources including energy and fuel.

Many aluminium items used daily are recycled but those used in packaging like ready-to-cook foil trays are difficult to collect since it is very light and usually encrusted with food after baking. These types of items are discarded in many homes, schools, offices, pubs and restaurants without much thought for the environment or metal recycling. Maybe it’s time to try a reusable alternative to foil cooking trays and foil food wrap!

Metal Stands

Finally

Did you know manufacturing recycled metal items requires an estimated 17 times less energy than manufacturing the same items from newly mined metal? Keep this in mind when replacing washing machines, cookers, ovens or hobs. They all contain metal that can be recycled. Recycle IT breakdown and recycle large household appliances daily. These include washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble dryers. Click here to view our list.

Metal Table Legs

About Recycle IT 

Recycle IT, is a social enterprise offering electrical, electronic and metal recycling services through drop-off and collection. Services are provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland and South Dublin County Council. Recycle IT is supported by Pobal and Dormant Accounts and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Leinster.

For more information on Recycle IT please call 01 4578321, email info@recycleit.ie or visit our website www.recycleit.ie

Click here to learn more about recycling metal with Recycle IT.

Dormant Accounts Fund Logo
Recycle IT is supported through the Dormant Account Fund

Eco-Friendly Recycling for Schools and Colleges

On By JMCEIn Climate change, Collections, Dublin, Electronic and Electrical Recycling, Family, News, Social EnterpriseLeave a comment

Recycling Benefits

Educational institutions in Dublin and surrounding areas now have the opportunity to safely recycle outdated electrical, electronic, and metal equipment. Our initiative provides a secure and responsible way to declutter facilities while creating valuable space for educational purposes.”

“It is important for schoolchildren, teenagers and adults to witness electronic recycling, as it helps them understand the value of protecting the environment by reducing electronic waste. Recycling also educates all age groups on conserving resources, preventing pollution, and taking responsibility for the proper disposal of old electronics—contributing to a healthier planet for everyone. This may be the perfect time to involve your students in some positive recycling activities.”

Reducing old electronics keeps harmful materials out of landfills, protecting the environment. When handled by authorised professionals, these materials are safely dismantled and processed using eco-friendly methods.

Mixed IT Equipment

Free Collection Service

Our service is offered free and is dedicated to reducing large amounts of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) which accumulates in classrooms, canteens, stores, and labs over time.

Recycle IT, is a community-based social enterprise, offering a simple and efficient route to recycle unused electrical and electronic items. After collection, items are broken down and recovered materials are processed for use in the manufacture of a new product. Your recycling helps sustain our organization and create employment and training opportunities.

The free collection service helps safely divert e-waste from landfills and makes use of old items that may have been thrown away. The types of items usually collected include computers, kitchen equipment, phone systems, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, monitors, projectors, printers, battery-operated toys, televisions, and radios. Please click here for a full list 

Our team can offer a cost-effective collection to a school further away. The fee charged covers operational costs related to the collection.

Our learning sector collection service is organised as part of our free community collection service. Recycle IT also support WEEE Ireland with collections of batteries from schools around Dublin which in turn supports the work of LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.

During the last 18 months, our teams have worked with hundreds of schools, colleges, and youth training organisations all over Dublin to achieve an overall increase in electrical equipment collected for recycling with a similar trend in 2024.

We are delighted to be in a position to help your staff, students and organisation safely recycle all types of electrical, electronic and pure metal equipment so do email us. Recycling with us directly creates real training opportunities and maintains employment levels within our social enterprise.

Register an interest

Schools, colleges, and trainers of all types in Dublin and the surrounding area are welcome to register an interest: Simply complete a registration form by clicking here or call our team on 01 4578321 Monday – Friday. Once you call or email we can help you plan and schedule your e-waste collection which will help:

School Electronics for Recycling
  • Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.
  • Conserves natural resources such as water and minerals.
  • Increases economic well-being and creates local training and employment opportunities.
  • Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials.
  • Saves energy.
School Collections Supported by WEEE Ireland

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning, not-for-profit, social enterprise established to create employment and promote environmental awareness through recycling and reuse. We work in partnership with WEEE Ireland and are authorized by your local authority to provide electrical, electronic and pure metal recycling collections across Dublin since 2007. Recycle IT are fully compliant with WEEE Recycling Requirements and permit details are available here.

For more information about Recycle IT please click here.

Mixed Metal Equipment