The amount of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Ireland has grown at a significant pace with consumers using more and more electronics in their day-to-day lives. When not disposed of properly, WEEE can be very harmful to human health.
EU and national legislation on WEEE aims to promote the recycling of WEEE by setting targets for the collection, treatment, recycling and disposal of WEEE in an environmentally sound manner. Environmental Protection Agency statistics, published for the latest reference year 2016, show that Ireland surpassed the EU targets for collection of household WEEE, and for recovery of WEEE of all ten categories. The 2016 EU WEEE collection target is set at 45% of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market. In 2016, Ireland achieved a collection percentage of 52%.
The Regulations impose obligations on persons who supply Electrical and Electronic Equipment to the Irish market, whether as retailers, importers or manufacturers. Under the legislation, final users are entitled to leave their electrical and electronic waste back free of charge in electrical retail stores on a one-for-one, like-for-like basis. Each local authority also accepts household WEEE free of charge at its recycling facilities.
Further information on what to do with household WEEE is available on Ireland’s official guide to managing your waste www.mywaste.ie.