Management of Waste Electrical Items
Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 which amend the Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 340 of 2005)
WEEE- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The WEEE Directive and the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive require an obligation to improve in the way electrical/electronic waste is managed encouraging manufacturers to develop more environmentally friendly products.
On August 13th 2005 the directive became effective.
Householders
- If you are a customer you can request that your retailer accepts a similar waste appliance or product when you purchase a new one.
- Should you wish to dispose of old Electrical items you can bring them for free to the Council's Civic Amenity Sites / Recycling Centres.
Obligations for the Retailer.
- You are obliged to accept a similar waste appliance or product when a customer is buying a new product. From August 13th 2005 retailers must be registered with their local authority.
- Provision of in-store receipt of household WEEE on a one for one basis on the sale of a new product similar to the one returned. This service is to be provided for free.
- Ensure that any WEEE collected is delivered to an approved recycling facility.
- Ensure that the storage and transport of WEEE collected meets the requirements of the regulations.
- Ensure that private households are informed of the WEEE take back facilities available to them and that they are encouraged to participate in the separate collection of WEEE.
Advice to the Retailer
- Segregate all waste by material e.g. used cardboard boxes, glass and steel, paper.
- Arrange a suitable, secure space to store your recyclables. If you do not have enough storage spaces try to arrange a more frequent collection or delivery.
- Ensure that all staff are trained and thoroughly familiar with the procedures for dealing with waste.
- If possible bale the segregated material it will reduce the amount of space your waste takes making it easy for collection by the waste collector.
- If your volumes of waste are too small to justify a collection, consider combining your waste with another commercial or industrial outlet.
- Keep your waste disposal and recycling costs down by keeping your waste to a minimum - minimise and re-use as much of your waste as you can. Find out what your suppliers are doing to reduce the amount of packaging waste you receive. Perhaps they will take back some items for re-use.
Further information is available on the Department of the Environment’s Website
WEEE - Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government
WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) is anything that has a plug or a battery and is at the end of its useful life.
In the house, old and broken fridges and washing machines are examples but don't forget the little guys! Remote controls, batteries, electric toothbrushes and even your old bicycle lamps can also be recycled!
FAQs
- Yes, but this is not just for TVs, it works for any electrical product from stereos to computers. But be warned, it is done on a 'like for like basis' so don't expect the shop to recycle your old fridge when you're only buying an electric toothbrush! Instead, bring this fridge to your local recycling centre.
- Remember the 15 day rule! You have 15 days to bring back your WEEE to the shop after buying a new item. Bring your receipt as proof of purchase.
- You can return waste batteries to your local shop so long as it sells the same type of battery (E.g. your local newsagents will take any portable batteries like AA but not car batteries. Your local garage will take car batteries but not portable batteries) Unlike WEEE, with batteries you don't have to purchase anything in the shop to do this; you can just drop them in the WEEE Ireland battery boxes in the store.
- Just be careful when bringing back portable batteries to bring back less than 5kgs at any one time, and don't return any leaking batteries because the chemicals in leaky batteries can be dangerous to your health and the shopkeepers.
- You can also return your batteries to recycling centres and other collection points free of charge.
No, it's not a scam. Some electrical goods show a visible Producer Recycling Fund (PRF) contribution on their price ticket indicating the environmental management cost for recycling WEEE. Recycling old electrical items can be expensive and the PRF helps fund this process and ensures that these items are managed in an environmentally sound manner and are recycled at the end of their lives. See the attached Category Listing for more details.
Yes, in the case of fridges or freezers you must take out all the food and have them defrosted so that they don't make a mess and attract unwanted rodents during transport and recycling. With computers and other communication devices, don't forget to securely wipe the drives before recycling. With everything else, just make sure they are removed from their packaging, are as clean as possible and don't pose a health and safety risk to our friends at the recycling centres.
Remind these people that Recycling WEEE is Free. What's more, it's very easy to do! All you need to do is remember to return your old items when buying new ones or hold on to them until there's a lot to be recycled and then take a short trip to your local recycling centre where you can recycle the goods free of charge. Also keep an eye out for WEEE Irelands special recycling events in your area. Each one of us has a part to play in making sure our planet doesn't get destroyed unnecessarily so always remember to recycle WEEE and remind others to do it too!
WEEE is accepted for recycling free of charge at Waller's-Lot Recycling Centre, Cashel, Legaun Recycling Centre, Cahir Road, outside Clonmel and Donohill Landfill and Recycling Centre near Tipperary Town.
WEEE Ireland
Further information on WEEE Recycling is available here.
