South Mayo householders urged to avail of free e-waste recycling events

South Mayo householders are being urged to bring their batteries, electrical, and electronic waste to a set of free collection days to help the county meet national e-waste recycling targets for 2024.

The events, hosted by WEEE Ireland in partnership with Mayo County Council, kick off on Thursday, June 27 at the Davitt GAA Grounds on Claremorris Road, Ballindine, from 4pm-7pm.

Another event will take place Tuesday, July 2, at the Tesco Car Park in Ballinrobe, from 10am-1pm before moving to the Community Centre Car Park, Kilmaine, from 4pm-7pm the same day. 

“Recycling e-waste is incredibly beneficial for both the environment and the economy. Together, we are diverting waste from landfill, recovering raw materials for reuse and ensuring hazardous materials are safely and responsibly disposed of,” said Sharon Cameron at Mayo County Council. 

“We look forward to working with WEEE Ireland and Mayo householders to hopefully recycle a record-breaking amount of electronic waste in 2024,” she added.

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. 

In 2022, the equivalent of 216,157 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 4,323 hectares of trees.  

WEEE Ireland accounts for over two thirds of all national waste electrical and electronics collection activity on behalf of 1,300 producer members. 

“In Mayo, and across Ireland, we are buying more electrical goods than ever – with people purchasing an average 22kg per head in 2023 compared to 16kgs just five years ago,” said WEEE Ireland CEO Leo Donovan. 

“Shopping stats show a surge in spend on new electrical devices like mobile phones, computers, small kitchen appliances and white goods. With old items still lying around many households, we want to offer the opportunity to recycle these for free,” he added.

The people of Mayo have largely contributed to e-waste recycling, with 1,389 tonnes of electrical waste collected in the county in 2023, a trend WEEE wants to ‘encourage’.

WEEE Ireland has warned that the nation needs to meet a forthcoming EU target to recycle at least 25 percent of our annual consumption of critical raw materials from e-waste. 

“An average of 80 percent of all e-waste that we collect is recovered for use again in manufacturing through both indigenous operators and specialist processors in Europe,” continued Mr 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,” he concluded.