A surge in lockdown spring cleaning has seen hundreds of tons of electrical waste collected in the north west under the country’s largest recycling scheme in 2020.
And that was despite Covid and travel restrictions.
Last year, 1,216 tonnes of electrical waste were collected in Donegal, 567 tonnes in Sligo and 134 tonnes in Leitrim..
Leitrim and Donegal recycled less per person than in 2019. Sligo exceeded the 2019 figure.
8.6 kilograms of e-waste were recycled per person in Sligo last year. That exceeded the 2019 collection rate of 8kg.
In Donegal, 6kg of e-waste were recycled per person; that compares to a 2019 rate of 7.1kg.
And in Leitrim, 4.1kg of e-waste per person was recycled last year, again below the 2019 rate of 5.4kg.
Meanwhile, Waste, Electrical and Electronic Equipment Ireland, a not-for-profit organisation, is warning that the rise in reusing and repairing of electrical goods must be counted toward Ireland’s recycling targets.
WEEE Ireland was one of the best performing recycling schemes in Europe in 2020.
However, significant volumes of electrical and electronic waste are not being recycled under the WEEE Ireland scheme but are going to export, metal scrap and other uses.
