As Black Friday approaches, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Ireland is calling on shoppers to adopt sustainable habits by responsibly recycling old electronics when buying new ones.
The organisation highlights the importance of minimising e-waste, especially during the holiday shopping season, when electronics sales surge.
According to WEEE Ireland, nearly half of Ireland’s small electronic purchases are made in November and December, yet only one in three devices is returned for recycling.
Last year, over 11 million small electronic items, ranging from grooming tools to tech gadgets, were purchased nationwide, with 4.4 million sold during Black Friday and Christmas alone.
Despite free recycling options, only 30 per cent of these products make their way back into the circular economy after their useful life. For toys like gaming consoles and battery-powered figures, the recycling rate drops to a mere 10 per cent, leaving millions of items discarded or forgotten in drawers.
Elizabeth O’Reilly, Head of Environmental Compliance at WEEE Ireland, said that electronics remain a top category for online purchases during sales events like Black Friday. However, she noted that national recycling rates for small devices remain disappointingly low, even as services like Amazon offer free take-back programs for obsolete devices.
O’Reilly urged consumers to take advantage of recycling options, which Irish law requires all retailers to provide when selling similar new products. “Whether you shop online or in-store, every retailer is required under Irish legislation to accept obsolete devices for free recycling when selling a similar new one.”