Galway householders are being urged to bring their batteries, electrical, and electronic waste to a free collection day to help the county meet national e-waste recycling targets for 2025.
The free event, hosted by WEEE Ireland, proudly supported by Galway County Council, takes place on Saturday, May 24, from 10am to 4pm at Gort Co-Operative Mart in Ballybawn.
Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled for free on the day, including old washing machines, TVs, toasters and kettles, electronic tools and toys, cables, IT equipment, mobile phones, remote controls, batteries, including farm fence batteries, and even watches.
WEEE Ireland CEO Leo Donovan said: “In Galway, and across Ireland, we are buying more electrical goods than ever, with people purchasing an average of 23kg per head in 2024, compared to the pre-COVID average of 16kg in 2019.
“Shopping stats show a surge in spending on new electrical devices like mobile phones, computers, small kitchen appliances and white goods. With old items still lying around in many households, we want to offer the opportunity to recycle these for free.
“People in Galway have contributed greatly to e-waste recycling every year, with 2,748 tonnes of electrical waste collected in the county in 2023, and we want to encourage that trend.”
9.9kg of e-waste was recycled per person in Galway in 2023 – falling short of the national average of 10.33kg per person that same year.
WEEE Ireland warns that the nation needs to meet new forthcoming EU targets to recycle at least 25 per cent of our annual consumption of critical raw materials from e-waste.
“An average of 80 per cent of all e-waste that we collect is recovered for use again in manufacturing through both indigenous operators and specialist processors in Europe,” said Donovan.
“Most end-of-life products contain metals and minerals in higher concentrations than primary resources. These stocks of resources are the urban mines of the future, so our recycling efforts can have a significant impact on the environment.”
In 2023, the equivalent of 222,852 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided by recycling e-waste through the WEEE Ireland Scheme as opposed to landfilling. That is the equivalent of the annual carbon consumption of 4,457 hectares of trees.
WEEE Ireland accounts for over two-thirds of all national waste electrical and electronics collection activity on behalf of 1,355 producer members.
“Recycling e-waste is incredibly beneficial for both the environment and the economy,” said Donovan.
“Together, we are diverting waste from landfills, recovering raw materials for reuse and ensuring hazardous materials are safely and responsibly disposed of. We look forward to working with Galway householders to hopefully recycle a record-breaking amount of electronic waste in 2025.”
