While Ireland’s recycling habits have improved in recent years, more than one in five (21%) of people are still unaware that their household electrical goods can be recycled for free, according to research commissioned by WEEE Ireland.
The research comes as ALDI is set to host a series of WEEE collection events for customers and members of the public, kicking off at its Cork (Macroom, Glanmire) and Kildare (Athy, Celbridge) stores in August and September as part of its long-standing partnership with WEEE Ireland.
Through these free collection events, which will be operated by WEEE Ireland, customers and members of the public will be able to return household electrical goods such as cookers, dishwashers, kettles, irons, toasters, TVs and phones.
The collection events will take place on the following dates, between 10am-4pm:
- Celbridge: Tuesday 29 August 2023
- Athy: Thursday 31 August 2023
- Glanmire: Tuesday 5 September 2023
- Macroom: Thursday 7 September 2023
ALDI collected 666 tonnes, or the equivalent to 33.3 million AA batteries in recent years.
Research commissioned by WEEE Ireland, and conducted by Empathy Research, has found that while 68% of people are motivated by environmental concerns when recycling, 12% of people claim to have put electrical items in the general waste, highlighting that there is still room for improvement.
The research also highlights how Ireland’s households plan are adopting a circular economy, with 23% of respondents planning to give used items to people they know/charity, while 8% plan to have their items repaired.
Interestingly, the research found that TVs (14%) and kettles (10%) were the most recycled WEEE items, perhaps of no surprise to a nation that loves a cup of tea in front of the telly!
Commenting, Liz Fox, National Sustainability Director at ALDI Ireland said: “As a proud partner of WEEE Ireland, and the leading retailer to collect used batteries, we are delighted to host a free collection event for household electrical items. At ALDI, we are committed to implementing sustainable practices both across our operations and in the communities in which we operate. As the research shows, a quarter of all households are planning to bring their used electrical goods to recycling facility in the near future, so we encourage our customers in Cork and Kildare to avail of the collection and bring their used goods to their nearest collection point over August and September.”
Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland, added: “Recycling e-waste is incredibly beneficial for both the environment and the circular economy. Together, we are diverting waste from landfill, recovering critical materials for reuse and ensuring hazardous materials are safely and responsibly disposed of. We are delighted to partner with ALDI for these crucial collection events as people in Cork and Kildare have contributed greatly to e-waste recycling every year, with nearly 7,000 tonnes of electrical waste collected across the two counties in 2022, so we want to continue that trend. However, across Ireland, we are buying more electrical goods than ever – with people purchasing an average 25kg per head in 2022 compared to 22kg in 2021. With many old, broken and unused appliances and waste batteries still lying around households, we want to offer the opportunity to recycle them for free at this series of events with our partners ALDI.”
