Consumers surpass national recycling targets in 2018, with 11 batteries recycled for every person!
February 24, 2019
WEEE Ireland Reaffirms Partnership with LauraLynn with €50,000 Donation
Brings Total LauraLynn Donation to over €390,000
WEEE Ireland, Ireland’s largest electrical and battery recycling scheme, has proudly revealed that they have collected 48% of batteries sold on the market as part of the FREE WEEE Pledge programme in 2018 – equivalent to 11 AA batteries for every single person in Ireland!
The record figures were unveiled as WEEE Ireland announced a €50,000 donation to LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice, as part of the WEEE Pledge battery recycling programme. Running continuously since 2011, the partnership with LauraLynn was recently renewed for five more years, and has to date collected over €390,000 for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
WEEE Ireland and LauraLynn have thanked Irish households for their fantastic efforts over the past year letting the world know that Small Things Matter, and can really make a difference! Recycling waste batteries and e-waste of all kinds, provides enormous benefits to the environment and what’s more, by recycling your batteries in WEEE Ireland’s blue battery boxes, whether at home, in school, or at participating retailers, you are helping LauraLynn to provide much-needed services to children and families across Ireland.
2019 is shaping up to be a big year for Irish consumers’ recycling efforts. As of 1 January, our national target for e-waste recycling is 65% of material placed on the market, and 45% of waste batteries. This means that there’s lots of work to do!
National statistics estimate that 23 batteries per person are purchased in Ireland each year, which means that there are about 12 more batteries per person being hoarded or hidden in homes, or worse still wrongly put in the rubbish bin.
So, take on the challenge of the WEEE Ireland Pledge! Hunt down the 23 waste batteries hiding around your home for recycling with WEEE Ireland and you can make a positive difference, both to the environment, and to the lives of children with life-limiting conditions!
Bosco, the nation’s favourite redhead, and WEEE Ireland recycling champion, said: “Boys and Girls, Mammies and Daddies have been amazing and recycled so many batteries for LauraLynn – but there’s lot more to do! Find all those old batteries hiding in your house for the boys and girls at LauraLynn Children’s Hospice today!”
Leo Donovan, chief executive of WEEE Ireland, said: “We’re prouder than ever to announce this year’s €50,000 donation to LauraLynn as part of our WEEE Pledge programme. To see that we’re able to make this year’s announcement on the back of a record-breaking effort in battery recycling makes it all the better. But while we are breaking records in collection amounts, there is still much more to be done. We would encourage everyone to recycle for good, as small things matter and can make a big difference to our environment”
Accepting the €50,000 donation on behalf of LauraLynn, Corporate Fundraising Manager Gillian Neary said: “Our partnership with WEEE Ireland dates back to the year our special hospice opened and we are so grateful for the awareness and funds raised during this time. We simply couldn’t provide our vital care to families without support like this.”
Speaking of the campaign, Gillian added “This campaign– ‘Small Things Matter’ – speaks to something very important to LauraLynn and those we care for; that seemingly small actions we take in our daily lives – like recycling waste batteries or to even giving a little to our favourite charity – can make a huge difference to others. So on behalf of all of us here in LauraLynn, thank you to everyone who’s recycled in our name. You’ve not just helped the children, parents and brothers and sisters we care for, you’ve helped the environment too.”
Further information about WEEE Ireland’s WEEE Pledge can be found here or find your local recycling drop off point here.