Tipperary consumers recycled less than the national average in electrical goods last year

An average of 8.9kg of e-waste was recycled per person in Tipperary last year, falling below the national average of 10kg per person, according to new figures from WEEE Ireland.

A total of 1,488 tonnes of electrical waste were collected in Tipperary in 2022 by the country’s largest recycling scheme.

However, WEEE Ireland said that we risk jeopardising green energy sources if we fail to improve our e-waste recycling and hit new EU targets for critical raw material recovery.

Electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar power generators all require components such as lithium, magnesium, copper and nickel – but we are importing the vast bulk of these.

WEEE Ireland now warns that we need to meet a forthcoming EU target to recycle at least 15% of our annual consumption of critical raw materials from this e-waste.

“Old and broken electronics and appliances are a rich source of essential critical raw materials, so it is vital that Tipperary households recycle the millions of broken and perfectly recyclable electrical items that are accumulating in their homes or being improperly disposed of,” said WEEE Ireland CEO, Leo Donovan.