Irish WEEE recyclers call for ‘quality recovery’

Consumers in Ireland recycled a record 21.1 million electronic and electrical waste items in 2025, up from 18.8 million in 2024.

The data has been released by Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Ireland which adds that the European measurement system fails to capture the full picture of the nation’s recycling progress. It argues that by that by measuring recycling as a percentage of sales, the system does not properly reflect longer product lifespans or emerging waste streams.

Vape challenge

The organisation’s annual report, detailing progress in its 20^th year of operation, shows that 84% of counties increased their WEEE recycling rates year-on-year, while an average 82% of materials collected were recovered for reuse in manufacturing, exceeding EU recovery requirement of 80%.

Lithium battery collection has more than doubled in five years, while more than 1.4 million vape devices were recycled through WEEE Ireland’s national takeback scheme.

Inadequate measures

WEEE Ireland ceo Leo Donovan said the current system measures e-waste collection against the volume of new electrical goods placed onto the market over the previous three-year period, with Ireland falling short of Europe’s 65% collection target.

‘Ireland is recycling more electrical waste than ever before and consumers are making a real effort to do the right thing, Donovan says, ‘But Europe’s current measurement system was designed for a very different market.’

He argues that current collection rate targets do not adequately reflect modern consumption patterns, long product lifespans, or emerging technologies such as solar PV systems and heat pumps.

‘These products may not enter the recycling stream for decades, yet they are already included in today’s sales-based targets. With the re-evaluation of the WEEE Directive in progress, WEEE Ireland supports a more modern approach to measuring the effectiveness of national recycling systems.’

Quality over volume

Donovan said ‘quality recovery’ was becoming just as important as collection volumes as Europe seeks to secure critical raw materials needed for renewable energy systems and future manufacturing technologies.

‘The focus now has to move beyond simply collecting waste to ensuring valuable materials including lithium, copper, cobalt and aluminium are recovered to strict standards and kept within the circular economy. Ireland is well positioned to respond to those changes due to sustained investment in our recycling infrastructure, compliance systems and public awareness campaigns over the past two decades.’