The annual Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) report shows that approximately 18.1 million appliances were collected for recycling in Ireland. Irish consumers recycled a record-breaking 41,730 tonnes of electronic and electrical waste in 2023 more than the 40,767 tonnes collected in 2022.

The e-waste haul saved from landfill in 2023 included two million lighting items, a quarter-of-a-million TVs and over half-a-million large household appliances, including fridge freezers.

In addition, 750,000 vapes were also collected after the national recycling scheme implemented its first dedicated takeback programme for waste e-cigarettes and vapes last year through WEEE Ireland Blue Battery Boxes.

Over 15 million small appliances such as coffee makers, calculators, kettles and keyboards, along with the equivalent of 66 million used AA batteries, also made their way into the circular economy.

The Critical Raw Materials Act came into effect in Ireland last month, and by 2030, 25% of strategic materials such as lithium, copper and cobalt must be sourced from recycling systems within Europe. The annual report also revealed that 54 per cent of e-waste was collected from retailer sites, 26% from local authority sites and 20% from WEEE Ireland’s network of collection.points.