Ireland beat Spain in Europe recycling battle

They may have crushed our Euro 2012 hopes but Ireland has beaten Spain in one European clash — recycling.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Ireland, the compliance scheme for electrical and battery recycling, released its 2011 annual report yesterday, which shows Ireland recycled nearly 11m electronic items last year — well ahead of the European average.

We recycled an average of 7.88kg of waste electrical and electronic equipment per head — almost double the European target — in comparison to 3kg in Spain and 4kg in Greece.

The Irish also exceeded the EU battery collection target of 25%, with WEEE Ireland collecting some 445 tonnes of portable batteries last year — the equivalent of the weight of three Dublin Spires.

The recycling effort has resulted in the diversion of 41,730 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Almost 5,000 retailers have signed up to a scheme to help them meet battery legislation, and an additional 500,000 ‘My Battery Boxes’ and 32,000 ‘retailer battery boxes’ have been distributed to help make battery recycling easier.

Just over 3,200 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment were collected during special collection events in 2011.

WEEE Ireland chief executive Leo Donovan said last year was an exceptionally successful one despite the recession.

“However, there are key issues that need to be addressed this year, such as leakage of WEEE from the system and the implementation of the recast of the WEEE directive into national law,” he said.

There has been a decrease of 2,500 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment collected since 2010 — due in part to a drop in sales of electrical appliances. The industry believes the fall may also be due to potential theft and inappropriate disposal of the material.

“We welcome the minister’s proposal to carry out a review of all ‘producer responsible initiatives’,” Mr O’Donovan said.