You may still have questions about waste electrical appliances and electronic equipment! We have gathered the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) that we receive about this particular type of waste and provided the answers here for you. We hope this helps.
WEEE stands for ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment’. WEEE is end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment – in simpler terms, it is anything with a plug or a battery! WEEE can range from old or broken fridge-freezers, washing machines, TVs, toasters and kettles, electronic tools and children’s toys, to smaller items such as mobile phones, cables, remote controls and even watches!
There are many reasons as to why you should recycle your WEEE! By doing so, you are reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. Recycling your WEEE rather than dumping it means that valuable resources such as metals, glass and plastics can be used again in new products resulting in less mining of raw materials.
Lots of electronic goods also contain hazardous materials like heavy metals such as lead and mercury and dangerous gases like CFCs and HGFs which can cause serious environmental damage and can also cause harm to human health. By recycling your WEEE, you are helping to protect nature and human health whilst contributing to the fight against climate change and ozone layer depletion!
Even items as small as household batteries can be dangerous if they are not properly disposed of. Some batteries can contain potentially hazardous materials such as mercury, cadmium and lead, which are the main cause for environmental concern. If waste batteries are not disposed of correctly, these heavy metals may leak when the battery corrodes, and so can contribute to soil and water pollution and endanger human health.
There are many locations around the country where you can recycle your WEEE. You can visit our Interactive Map to find your closest drop off point or civic amenity site.
Your household waste electrical items can be recycled in any Civic Amenity site/Recycling Centre around Ireland. This recycling service is free-of-charge for members of the public wishing to recycle their household WEEE.
All retailers of electrical equipment are also obliged to take back WEEE of a similar type on a one-for-one, like-for-like basis, free of charge. As well as this, certain electrical retailers are partaking in the ‘We’ll Take It Back’ campaign – meaning they will take back your household WEEE free-of-charge with no purchase necessary.
There are many locations around the country where you can recycle your WEEE. You can visit our Interactive Map to find your closest drop off point or civic amenity site.
Your lightbulbs can be recycled in any Civic Amenity site/Recycling Centre around Ireland. This recycling service is free-of-charge for members of the public wishing to recycle their waste light bulbs.
At collection, electrical waste (WEEE) is segregated into ‘families’ which are then sent for specific depollution and treatment processes in Ireland to divert hazardous material from landfill and from harming the environment and human health.
Electrical waste then undergoes multi stage recycling processes to break them into fractions of material e.g. glass, metals, plastics which can be used again in manufacturing.
Under the WEEE and Battery Directives there are targets for recovery rates and recycling efficiencies of these waste streams. WEEE Ireland strive to reach and exceed these targets every year and they report annually on the achievement of these targets.
Electrical retailers must take back products on a like-for-like basis. However, several Irish retailers have signed up to the We’ll Take It Back Electrical Retailer Programme, meaning they will accept household e-waste with no purchase necessary, operating as free household e-waste recycling drop-off point. These electrical retailers include all stores/branches of Curry’s, DID, Expert, Euronics, Harvey Norman, PowerCity and Soundstore nationwide.
