Kildare Households Lag Behind In E-Waste Recycling Efforts, New Report Reveals

Thursday, 10 October 2024 10:52

By Martin Osborne

According to the report, items, packed with valuable metals, plastics, and other materials, are being squandered rather than recycled.

A new report has revealed that Kildare households are falling short when it comes to recycling electronic waste, with only 5.1 kg of e-waste recycled per person last year.

That's despite global figures showing households produce an average of 29 kg each.

The findings come ahead of International E-Waste Day, on Monday, October 14.

According to the report, items, packed with valuable metals, plastics, and other materials, are being squandered rather than recycled.

Ireland’s largest e-waste recycling scheme, WEEE Ireland, has called for urgent action to change attitudes toward electronic items like power tools, tech gadgets, and mobile phones.

Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland, emphasised the importance of responsible disposal.

"Careless disposal represents a missed opportunity for recycling, as many of these items contain recoverable materials that can be used to make new products. Recycling e-waste should no longer be viewed as simply discarding old electronics,” said Donovan.

He added: "Instead, people in Kildare need to see it as an opportunity to recover valuable materials and contribute to the circular economy."

The report outlines the scale of the global e-waste problem, revealing that households collectively generate 62 billion tonnes of e-waste worldwide, including around 4 billion kg of metals such as cobalt and aluminium, which are essential for the electronics industry.

However, current recycling efforts only meet 1% of the demand for critical raw materials, far below the 25% target set by the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act.

Separate research commissioned by WEEE Ireland earlier this year showed that one in eight people in Ireland continue to throw small electronic items into household bins, with younger people particularly likely to do so.