Some Annual Report Highlights 2020

WEEE Ireland is a not for profit organisation, committed to delivering cost effective waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) compliance on behalf of producer members. WEEE Ireland has been operational since 2005 and has been the waste electrical scheme of choice in Ireland maintaining majority market share across all sectors.

The team at WEEE Ireland coordinates collection and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment across many parts of Ireland. WEEE Ireland operates under the approval of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

The organisations engages continually with Irish and European partners, members and trade associations on solutions to further ‘Close the WEEE Loop and progress toward a Circular Economy. The circular economy aims to keep products, equipment and infrastructure in use for longer, thus improving the productivity of these resources.

Targets 

In order to exceed the EU collection target of 65% (by weight)  WEEE Ireland have worked hard and remain focused on collections to increase recycling volumes as more electrical appliances are placed onto the market for purchase by consumers. (i.e.. electrical and electronic items offered to and purchased by consumers).

For the sixth year in succession there has been an increase in the weight of WEEE collected from retailer collection points with 300 more tonnes taken back in 2020.

Retail collections are higher than the previous year despite the challenges of lockdown from Q2 2020 onwards.

Collection volumes from Local Authority civic amenity sites significantly increased from 2019 by over 1,000 tonnes.

The pandemic restrictions limited footfall and travel to collection points and meant public collection days could not be held after March 2020. (nine collection events, held during 2020 compared to an average of fifty collections per year).

Despite this, the continued rise in placed on the market sales of EEE for the 4th year in a row along with Covid-19 restrictions, meant the required 7% percent direct collection volume increase needed to reach 65% as not achieved.

WEEE Flows data shows additional collection data and reconciliations to be considered toward target achievement.

Contingency planning for 2021 target achievement includes renewed focus on additional WEEE flows, reintroduction of collection days when restrictions are lifted and more communications around ‘not binning’ e-waste.

Collections and Environment – Some Figures!

WEEE Ireland coordinates collections of waste electrical and electronic equipment via three core channels: Retailers, Civic Amenity Sites, and other WEEE Ireland Collection Points.

In 2020 WEEE Ireland recorded 38,724 tonnes of WEEE taken back during the calendar year, the highest volume achieved to date. However, the increasing consumption of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) onto the Irish market in 3 preceding years means for 2020 this represents 61% of household and dual use business to consumer (B2C) EEE from WEEE Ireland Members, equating to an average of 10.93 kg per person in the Scheme’s designated collection areas.

WEEE Ireland’s market share for 2020 was 76.7% however the Schemes designated collection area in the year only equated to 74.9% of the population based on census information. To balance this WEEE Ireland continue to meet their member share of national WEEE take back. (see the full report for further details) 

Recovery Rates

WEEE Ireland tracks the management of WEEE and Battery waste through recycling process and measures the quality of this process. This is then benchmarked as recovery and recycling efficiency rates.

These measures are required for Producers as evidence of the proper environmental management of collected volumes from their individual or collective take back systems. WEEE Ireland continues to meet and exceed the high recovery targets required by the WEEE and Battery Directives on behalf of its Members on each category of WEEE and waste
batteries.

As the largest Scheme for collection of household and dual use e-waste in the Irish marketplace, WEEE Ireland
accounts for over two thirds of all national WEEE collection activity. WEEE Ireland benchmark activity against other
not-for-profit Schemes across Europe in the WEEE Forum. In 2019 WEEE Ireland ranked 2nd out of 23 comparable
Schemes for WEEE collection rates 5.

To get the full WEEE Ireland Annual Report for 2020 and other years please click below

Click here for the 2020 report.

Click here for the 2019 report.

Click here for the 2018 report.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning social enterprise providing recycling collection and drop off services for all types of waste electrical, electronic equipment (WEEE) and pure metal items. 

Over recent years Recycle IT offered to drop off and collection services to tens of thousands of homes, schools, charities and businesses across Dublin and surrounding areas collecting a range of WEEE which includes thousands of computers, cables, monitors, microwaves and screens.

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

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