Tag: Reuse

Climate Change – What to do?

On By JMCEIn Electronic and Electrical RecyclingLeave a comment

Learn what you can do!

Recycling allows materials to be reused, re-purposed or recycled again and again.  This helps in conserving wildlife habitats, avoids further pollution and saves energy. Recycling safely alongside other small simple changes in your life can really make a difference to climate change.

Waste sent to landfill sites costs Irish taxpayers millions of euros every year, much of which could be saved by recovery, reuse or recycling. Waste produces emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas contributing to climate change and after a number of years with severe weather events we can all see the effects of the climate change first hand.

Climate Change is Here
Climate Change is Here

Meeting emissions target is going to be very tough for Ireland. In 2012 the EPA estimated Ireland will exceed its allocated limit by 2017.

Ireland’s apparent inability to meet its obligations for emissions reduction is due to our transport and agriculture sectors but immediate help is available by simply taking one less trip, using a bike, going for a walk locally and by reducing reusing and recycling items around your house, school, warehouse, store or office.

The United Nations reported less than 20% of e-waste (electric or electronic waste) is formally recycled, with 80% either ending up in landfill or being informally recycled – much of it by hand in developing countries, exposing workers to hazardous and carcinogenic substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium. E-waste in landfill contaminates soil and groundwater, putting food supply systems and water sources at risk.

These type of activities and the negative effects are not unique to developing countries and can happen in Ireland if your items are disposed off incorrectly. Sometimes free “junk” collectors can be too good to be real!

Routes to ease Climate Change in 21

Below you will find 12 tips to help reduce the impacts of climate change, tips such as:

1: Switch to a renewable energy supplier in 2021.

2: Replace old kitchen appliances with energy efficient electrical appliances and recycle safely.

3: Use cleaner, greener light bulbs.

4: Unplug devices for climate, safety and money reasons.

5: Think about the way you travel and how often.

6: Insulate your home.

7: Plant a tree or two.

8: Grow your own fruit and veg.

9: Separate household waste.

10: Make and use your own compost bin.

11: Holiday in Ireland.

12: Cycle and include the family.

13: Recycle old paint cans at a recycling centre.

14: Don’t fill the kettle to make a cup of coffee or tea.

Recycling WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment).

If your in Ireland and have electrical, electronic, battery or lighting waste, you can Recycle IT free at authorised collection points. Use the interactive map to find your nearest local recycling centre, public collection day, electrical retailer and bulb exchange store. Even waste portable batteries can be recycled at your local newsagent.

In Dublin, the local authorities in South Dublin, Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown work with Recycle IT to help offer residents collections for electrical and electronic waste as well as pure metal items. This annual service offered across suburbs in Dublin and helps householders dispose of large and small electrical appliances, IT equipment, small house gadgets and powered toys.

Recycle IT help thousands of householders and apartment dwellers yearly with their electrical recycling by providing an authorized, awarding winning, free or cost effective WEEE recycling collections.

The collections are held on week days with residents associations leading the way. Your local residents groups after making arrangements will notified you of your collection day with a flyer delivered to your property or by a text / whatsapp message up to 3 to 4 days before the collection happens in your estate.

E-Waste System Boards from Computers
Waste – Damaged and Broken Equipment

What’s accepted

Recycle IT accept old, damaged or unused electrical, electronic or pure metal items and all can be collected at the same time using our pre booked residents collection events or via personal recycling collections. Bikes, cookers, ovens, computers, phones, cables, exercise equipment, tools etc. Click here for full PDF lists

Just ask you local residents group to contact us and we can arrange a free collection from the homes in your estate or area. These collections are operated in association with WEEE Ireland.

Some guidelines

When putting items out for collection remember:

  • Keep the old items tidy, inside you garden, or on the kerb so the footpath or roadway is kept clear
  • If you think an unofficial collection are taking place, call us and we will arrange a collection from your door
  • Move items to the ground floor to allow for speedy collection
  • Let us know if items cannot be easily and safely lifted by two people.
  • Notify us advance if you have a request.
  • Do not leave sharp or dangerous objects with your electrical or pure metal items
  • Items should be secured if severe weather is expected
Old Metal Gates

What next?

Recycle IT are asking resident groups or tidy town groups to contact us in New Year. Give us a call on 01 4578321 to help declutter homes safely and reduce environment harm simply by recycling in an authorised way.

In the Interest of health safely and wellbeing please note – All items need to be accessible, disconnected and ready for collection. We will be following social distancing guidelines. We are happy to collect the item/s from a drive or garden / outside area / accessible & clear external location. Please remain mindful of social distancing and hand hygiene guidelines when recycling.

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 are supported by Pobal and Dormant Accounts and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Leinster.

To find out about other items which might be suitable for reuse, repurposing or recycling please click here.

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

Growing a tree in a pot

Cycle and Recycle your Bikes

On By JMCEIn Electronic and Electrical Recycling, FamilyLeave a comment

Recent Trends

Sport Ireland research has found the number of Irish people partaking in individual sports, such as cycling, has increased significantly when compared to the same time last year. The survey was undertaken in three waves from February to April 2020.

Despite the challenges imposed by Covid-19 restrictions the number of people cycling regularly is estimated to have increased by 220,000. You will find the full report here.

Cycling in Dublin
Cycling in Dublin

Environment and Bikes!

The bike is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally sustainable means of transportation, fostering environmental stewardship and health. With this in mind, the United Nations General Assembly decided to dedicate the 3rd of June as World Bicycle Day – Add this to World Environment Day on June 5th and we are on a real winner!

These days encourage awareness and action on health, wellbeing and the protection of our environment. World Environment Day is the “people’s day” for doing something to take care of the Earth. Recycle IT believe these two “UN” days can work in harmony!

2020 Cycling Eayet29WAAAFS4z
Dublin City Council – Cycling in Dublin

World Bicycle Day aims to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding, and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace. All these aims can really be achieved using a bike while also helping us travel without creating carbon miles.

Celebrate the bicycle

Initiatives promote cycling at both national and local levels can help build physical and mental health and well-being and develop a sustainable and environmentally friendly culture of cycling in society.

Dublin Bikes
Reuse Dublin Bikes

National Bike Week

Bike Week in Ireland is a celebration and promotion of all that’s great about bikes and cycling. Held in June of each year bike-themed events are organized by Irish local authorities, community groups and cycling groups throughout Ireland  This year the National Bike Weeks was rescheduled for September. You can learn more about and maybe take part between 19th – 27th September 2020. Just visit bikeweek.ie

Here are 8 reasons to celebrate the bike (some encouragement)

  1. The bicycle is a simple, affordable, reliable and clean way to get about.
  2. The bike is environmentally friendly and is a sustainable means of transportation;
  3. The bicycle can serve as a tool for social, community and economic development
  4. Cycling can help people access education, health care, and sporting activities.
  5. The union between the bicycle and the user creates an immediate awareness of the local environment you are cycling through.
  6. Using a bike saves time, reduces traffic and helps you arrive on time.
  7. The bike has a positive impact on climate with fewer carbon emissions.
  8. Biking can help grow your social circles, real friends and enjoyment of life.

Encourage Cycling and Environmental Awareness.

Recycle IT want to encourage as many people as possible to read and share this blog post. Then throughout the summer weeks and months take the bike out and bring friends and family along to discover your local environment.

As the summer sun shines there is no better time to get on the bike and grow your awareness of the local area. This can happen in the full knowledge that you are improving your health and reducing environmental harm.

Cycling in Dublin City
Cycling in Dublin City

Recycle IT and Bike Recycling

Recycle IT are happy to accept old bikes for free recycling. Just drop your old bike off with us Monday to Friday in Clondalkin. We also accept bikes from communities all over Dublin as part of our residents door to door community collection service.

Reuse

Members of the Recycle IT team not only recycle bikes but cycle regularly. Where possible we reuse and recycle bikes and bike parts.  At the time of writing this post, we have a staff member waiting to get a bike frame and parts for reuse and another who just rebuild a bike from recycled parts. Once on the road, these bikes will enable easy, affordable and environmentally friendly travel into work.

A small number of bikes may go for reuse depending and quality and repair requirements. All remaining bikes are recycled safely.

About Recycle IT

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

For further details about our services call us on 01 4578321, email info@recycleit.ie or visit the Recycle IT website at www.recycleit.ie

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Recycle IT – Repak Award Winner 2019 – WEEE Champion

Sharing the Question of Plastic Recycling

On By JMCEIn NewsLeave a comment

Overview

For over 50 years, global production and consumption of plastics have continued to rise. An estimated 299 million tons of plastics were produced in 2013, representing a 4% increase over 2012, and confirming and upward trend over the past years. (Source: Worldwatch Institute – January 2015)

Greenpeace says that “right now an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic, everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads – end up in our oceans each year. That’s a truckload of rubbish a minute”

Ocean Waste - Recycle IT
Ocean Waste – Recycle IT

Most plastics used daily have a very low economic reuse value. Think about bread wrapping or banana bags. Another fact is plastics wrappers can contain numerous materials which are hard to separate. Examples include sweet wrappers, take-away food containers, coffee cups, coffee capsules and plastic/foil-lined cartons for soup and milk. Are investments in recycling solutions for these materials profitable? If not, how can this change to benefit the world?

What we do today?

Since the 1980s China has become the world’s largest importer of waste. In 2012, up to 56% of global exported plastic waste ended up in China. Imported plastic waste alone reached a peak of almost 9 million tonnes in 2012 (Source: Greenpeace)

China offered advanced notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its plan to ban the importation of 24 types of waste, including plastics for recycling, waste textile materials and all unsorted mixed waste paper, the sort of paper that accumulates in household bins. It also says cardboard for recycling must be “cleaner” and free of contaminants such as gravel, dust and stones.

According to Industry Week, the biggest quantity of waste comes from the US followed by Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia all of whom export large amounts of recyclables.

Map of China - Recycle IT
Map of China – Recycle IT

Change now!

On January 11th, 2018 China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) finalized a quality standard of 0.5% for certain imported recyclables. (Source; recycling today)

According to various government and trade organisations located across the globe, this action fails to properly consider the negative effects on global recycling efforts, but in our view, we must recognize this change as an opportunity for governments and communities to take responsibility and well as action locally for waste and its possible reuse.

A recent report in the Irish Times suggests Ireland, which has little capacity to recycle plastic has been trying to locate newer recycling markets, but could we do more at home to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Greenpeace urges industries and corporations that manufacture and market plastics and other disposable products to take responsibility for their products through their entire life-cycle, take responsibility for the environmental costs and invest in transformative solutions and alternatives to put an end to the current unmanageable levels of waste produced every year.

Plastic - Recycle IT
Plastic – Recycle IT

What we say

Recycle IT don’t directly offer a plastic recycling service but like lots of organisations and homes, we do accumulate plastic as part of our operations. We would love to see better plastic recycling routes and well as a reduction in overall packaging.

In our opinion, all stakeholders need to come together for the common good and find a range of solutions which meet the needs of different countries, markets and communities. Researching local needs, planning and infrastructure can help all stakeholders handle the plastic waste stream, hopefully with positive outcomes for the environment which we all share.

Recent Progress

The first-ever Europe-wide strategy on plastics was adopted on January 16th 2018. It is a part of the transition towards a more circular economy. It aims to protect the environment from plastic pollution whilst fostering growth and innovation, turning a plastics challenge into a positive for the Future of Europe.

Under the new plans, all plastic packaging on the EU market will be recyclable by 2030, the consumption of single-use plastics will be reduced and the intentional use of microplastics will be restricted.

For further information on recycling packaging includng plastic packaging in Ireland you can call Repak on 01 467 0190 or visit http://www.repak.ie.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning not for profit social enterprise providing a collection and drop off service for all types of waste electrical, electronic and metal items. During the last 18 months Recycle IT offer drop off and collection services to 140,000 homes and organisations in Dublin and surrounding areas collecting a range of WEEE which includes thousands of dishwashers, computers, cables, monitors, microwaves, TVs and metal items.

Our electrical community collection service is provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT are supported by Pobal, South Dublin County Council and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

Call us on 01 4578321 or email us at here

Visit our website www.recycleit.ie

IMG_0453 (2)
Recycle IT – Repak Award Winner 2019 – WEEE Champion

Recycle IT – Commended for CSR in 2017

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

Chambers Ireland Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2017

The Chambers Ireland Corporate Social Responsibility Awards were established in 2004 to recognise the work being carried out by Irish and multinational companies to improve the lives of their employees and to enhance the civic environment in which they operate.

Chambers Ireland
Chambers Ireland

This unique competition now in it 14th year offers the business community in Ireland a chance to promote their efforts in CSR and gain recognition for best practice. The awards are presented in a variety of categories covering all areas of CSR.

The shortlist for the awards was announced in July and the overall awards winners were announced at a black tie dinner on September 7th, 2017. Recycle IT were delighted to be shortlisted in Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) category alongside 5 other organisations.

About the Awards

The 2017 Chambers Ireland, Corporate Social Responsibility Awards are partnered by Business in the Community Ireland, run in association with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and sponsored by BAM Ireland.

The awards are judged by two separate panels comprising experts in the field of CSR. The first panel will decide the shortlist while the second panel will decide the category and overall winners. The judging process is completely independent and no representative from Chambers Ireland sits on the judging panel.

On the night Recycle IT were commended for our work in supporting local communities with a range of community electrical recycling initiatives. These initiatives help increases the quantity of electrical, electronic and battery operated equipment recycled each year.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning not for profit social enterprise providing a collection and drop off service for all types of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). During 2016 Recycle IT offered drop off and collection services to 100,000 homes and businesses across Dublin and surrounding areas collecting a range of WEEE which includes thousands of computers, cables, monitors, microwaves and TV’s.

Recycle IT services are provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT are supported by Pobal, South Dublin County Council and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. To learn more, please call 01 4578321 or visit our website www.recycleit.ie 

Picture1 Logo Small Copy

Recycling Office and Home Computers Safely

On By JMCEIn Electronic and Electrical Recycling, We Recycle ITLeave a comment

Recycle IT Safely – Computers, Phone, Tablet & Hard Disks!

According to preliminary sales figures from Gartner and IDC, PC sales fell throughout 2016. Its seems that infrequent users like you and me are more likely to reach for a smartphone to access applications that ten years ago would have needed a PC.  As a result of this trend, the market is declining and is set to decline again in 2017. The graph below shows PC sales figures from 2006 to 2015 and the ongoing reduction in sales over more recent years.

PC Shipping Data
PC Shipping Data

It’s also worth noting that PC enthusiasts, gamers and the business sector will continue to purchase PC in large volumes and globally, PC sales in 2016 stood at approx. 269.7 million units shipped which is still a large number.

Data and Information 

Even with PC sales slowing we are all still large consumers of information and we are buying lots of electronic equipment with hard disk drives (HDD) to store business and personal customer information including photos of everything from our kids to bank statements and passwords (so we can have a reminder).

Whether this information is stored on external HDD, mobile phones, tablets, memory cards, memory keys or other storage devices people should be aware how important it is to destroy and recycle safely once the items have served their purpose. Both business and personal data can be valuable to others so it’s important to destroy the data on your PC, phone, memory card or tablet.

Hard Disk Drives - Recycle IT
Hard Disk Drives – Recycle IT

You might be thinking, what will I do with all that information on the HDD before recycling a PC?  If so, please don’t try to burn or use industrial-strength magnetic forces on the devices as these methods are not full proof or safe!

What to Do next?

The key is to destroy your computer HDD is ensuring it can’t ever spin again. The physical destruction of the drive means increased confidence that stored data is obliterated and can never be used again. This is the method Recycle IT prescribe and practice.

In the interest of time and money, you don’t need to destroy the full PC or laptop just the hard drive which is a small box inside of computer itself and usually contains sensitive information including credit card information, photos or contact details. So if you are upgrading to a new computer device (desktop computer, phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) please arrange for the removal of the hard drive at the same time as recycling the computer!

How to Destroy the HDD?

If you are looking to dispose of an old computer with a hard drive, it’s really best to physically destroy the old hard drive just to be 100% certain that the old data is completely destroyed.  Recycle IT use electronic tools and powerful cutting tools to ensure the HDD is destroyed. This method is an ideal option for disposal of home or office hard drives.

Drilling or Cutting Hard Disk Drives - Recycle IT
Drilling or Cutting Hard Disk Drives – Recycle IT

Safety in Destruction

Our team take every precaution from wearing protective goggles, gloves, and a dust mask for mouth and nose when cutting into the metal drive. They can cut right through the drive, from one side to the other multiple times ensuring the platters and the controller board are shattered.  Once complete Recycle IT can provide destruction and disposal certification depending on your needs.

Finally

It’s worth making the point again – failure to arrange the destruction of your old hard drives at the time of recycling your computer or phone could result in the inappropriate sharing of sensitive information.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning not for profit social enterprise providing a collection and drop off service for all types of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

During 2016 Recycle IT offered drop off and collection services to 100,000 homes and businesses across Dublin and surrounding areas collecting a range of WEEE which includes thousands of computers, cables, monitors, printers and networking equipment. This helps sustain jobs and create training opportunites for people returning to works.

Recycle IT services are provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT are supported by Pobal, South Dublin County Council and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

Recycle IT - Pakman Award Winner 2016
Recycle IT – Pakman Award Winner 2016

If  you need more information you can call Recycle IT a call on 01 4578321 or email info@recycleit.ie

To learn more about recycling old batteries from you office safely please click UPS battery systems