Bosco Recycling Battery Campaign
April 22, 2014
Bosco Recycling Battery campaign brings back a record 25 million waste batteries for recycling
532 tonnes of waste batteries recycled and €90,000 raised for LauraLynn Children’s Hospice in 2012/13 by WEEE Ireland campaign.
We are now at 35% portable battery take back rate, and need to be at 45% by end of 2015 under EU rules.
WEEE Ireland research shows that children are leading the way with battery recycling in the home.
PRESS RELEASE
April 2014
BOSCO RECYCLING BATTERY CAMPAIGN BRINGS BACK A RECORD 25 MILLION WASTE BATTERIES FOR RECYCLING
– 532 tonnes of waste batteries recycled and €90,000 raised for LauraLynn
Children’s Hospice in 2012/13 by WEEE Ireland campaign
-We are now at 35% portable battery take back rate, and need to be at 45% by end of 2015 under EU rules
-WEEE Ireland research shows that children are leading the way with battery recycling in the home
Thanks to a helping ‘hand’ from Ireland’s favourite puppet, the Irish public recycled more batteries than ever in 2013! WEEE Ireland are delighted to announce today that more than 25 million portable waste batteries have been collected across the country as part of the 2013 Spread a Little Sunshine campaign for LauraLynn. As a result €90,000, has today been donated by WEEE Ireland to Ireland’s only children’s hospice thanks to the success of the 2012/13 campaigns and the widespread public support received.
WEEE Ireland teamed up with Bosco in 2013 for the Spread a Little Sunshine campaign, with the aim of recycling as many portable waste batteries as possible whilst also creating a monetary fund for LauraLynn. Batteries are collected and recycled at a cost to the scheme but WEEE Ireland wanted to encourage people not to throw them in the bin but recycle instead and hit upon the idea of donating to the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice based on the recycling effort.
25 million waste batteries equates to over 532 tonnes recycled by people through the blue WEEE Ireland battery boxes in retailers, offices and in schools in WEEE Ireland areas all over the country. This is an increase of the equivalent of 3 million batteries since 2012 increasing Irelands take back rate from 30 to 35%.
Recent research commissioned by WEEE Ireland carried out by Empathy Research revealed that children are leading the recycling charge in the home, as households with children (57%) more likely to recycle batteries than those with no children*. Philomena Dunne, CEO of LauraLynn, said: “Thank you to everyone who recycled their batteries in 2013 – we are amazed at the huge volume of batteries that have been recycled and the donation from WEEE Ireland as a result of everybody’s great efforts is phenomenal and greatly appreciated by all of the staff and families at LauraLynn.”
Elizabeth O’Reilly, WEEE Ireland, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the response to the campaign in 2013, Bosco really struck a chord with the Irish public and it is a fantastic achievement that we can make this donation to LauraLynn today. As a mum I
can appreciate how important the work done by the staff here is and how much it helps the families who avail of the services every day, and we are also happy to announce today our continued partnership with LauraLynn for the next two years. We want to thank everyone who helped us to reach this target and want to recycle even more in 2014 and beyond so that we can further help this incredibly worthwhile cause while helping Ireland meet its EU battery recycling targets.”
By end of 2015 we need to be at least a 45% battery take back rate and WEEE Ireland hopes to put Ireland on track to meet this with the help of the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice and the public. This statistic means every second person will have to recycle ALL of their batteries next year to achieve the target so the Scheme’s final message is don’t let your neighbor do all the work. Collect spent batteries at your home and work place and put them in the WEEE Ireland Blue Battery boxes at retailers and other collection points locally. It’s easy and free to do so”
The more batteries that are recycled, the more LauraLynn will benefit. Every year there are approximately 450 child deaths and more than 4,000 children living with life limiting or threatening conditions in Ireland. All money raised from the Spread a Little Sunshine campaign will go toward the upkeep and development of the hospice, which requires €2.4million to operate annually.
*Empathy Research carried out in March 2014, with 1,097 participants taking part.