Cork people rank above average in e-waste recycling, says WEEE Ireland

Cork people recycled 9.1kg of electronic and electrical waste per person last year, beating the 9kg average in the counties covered by Ireland’s largest e-waste recycling scheme.

In 2025, Irish consumers recycled 21.1m e-waste items, up from 18.8m in 2024, according to WEEE Ireland.

Ireland recycled 18.5m small appliances, 1.9m lighting products, 278,222 TVs and monitors, and 123,060 fridge-freezers. Also collected were 1,284 tonnes of portable waste batteries.

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

Record performance

However, despite last year’s record performance, WEEE Ireland has warned that the European measurement system fails to capture the full picture of the country’s recycling progress.

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.

In 2025, Irish producers placed 25kg of household electrical equipment per person on the market.

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

“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.”