Irish Lamp Recycling Achieve WEEELABEX Certification
May 27, 2015
WEEE Ireland congratulate their contractor Irish Lamp Recycling as the first Irish Lamp Recycling facility to achieve this European standard
Ireland and Belgium are the leaders in setting recycling standard in Europe
PRESS RELEASE
WEEE Ireland are proud to announce that Irish Lamp Recycling, WEEE Ireland’s largest Lamp contractor, have achieved the WEEELABEX certification for the responsible recycling of Lamps. Irish Lamp Recycling are the second LAMP recycling facility in Europe to achieve the standard. The WEEELABEX Standard, which stands for Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Label of Excellence, is a European certification that sets standards and monitors the processing of Electrical Waste.
Irish Lamp Recycling are one of only 34 European organisations to achieve the WEEELABEX Standard and are leaders in this field, bringing new standards to WEEE recycling here in Ireland. WEEE Ireland, who are founding members of the WEEELABEX organisation, are delighted to support Irish Lamp Recycling in this achievement. Irish Lamp Recycling treat all of WEEE Ireland’s Lamp collections (i.e old and broken energy saving light bulbs and fluorescent tubes) and are the major Light Fitting collection and recycling contractor for the scheme.
WEEE Ireland’s CEO Leo Donovan said of this achievement; “WEEE Ireland has supported Irish Lamp Recycling since it began in 2005. The Members of WEEE Ireland include multi national blue chip Producers of electrical appliances including lighting equipment. They demand a traceable and auditable compliance process for management of WEEE/ewaste and Irish Lamp Recycling are to be applauded for continuing to invest and develop their technology to achieve the WEEELABEX standard for waste electrical recycling and treatment in 2015”
Commenting on the award of the WEEELABEX Certificate to Irish Lamps Recycling, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly said; “Recycling in Ireland continues to improve year on year and it is fantastic to see the immense efforts of Irish Lamp Recycling being recognised and awarded the WEEELABEX Certificate for excellence. Almost 800 tonnes of lighting electronic waste was managed by Irish Lamp Recycling in 2014, from households and business across Ireland. Through this facility the area of Athy and beyond in Co Kildare has seen increased employment. They are a great success story that showcases what can be done with solid support from stakeholders in the waste value chain.”
Irish Lamp Recycling is authorised to accept into its facility 10,000 tonnes of waste. In 2014 Irish Lamp Recycling managed ca. 780 tonnes of electrical waste. This figure represents ca. 2,200,000 light bulbs, over 35,000 light fittings. Since January 2010, the number of employees at the facility has increased from approximately 5 in 2010 to 10 in 2014.
Irish Lamp Recycling General Manager Aaron Cuddy said; “We are delighted to be the first Irish facility and the second in Europe to acquire the WEEELABEX certification for recycling Lamps. This is not just an achievement for us and for WEEE Ireland, but also for Ireland – Ireland, Holland, Belgium and France are the leading European countries who require the WEEELABEX standard for recyclers of e-waste and we are pleased to lead the way not only here in Ireland but in Europe as well. Our sincere thanks to all who work at Irish Lamp Recycling who have achieved this Standard”
Based in the Woodstock Industrial Estate in Athy, Irish Lamp Recycling was established in 1992 and set up a Lamp recycling facility in Athy, employing two people at first.
Over the years the company and facilities have expanded to become a significant purpose-built LAMP and WEEE recycling facility incorporating 30,000 square feet of warehouses, process buildings and external areas for logistics, weighing facilities and parking – all of which is constructed to the highest level of environmental integrity. In 1998, the company achieved accreditation to ISO 9001, quality standard and in 2002 achieved ISO 14001, environmental standard, one of the first recycling companies in Europe to achieve both these standards. Irish Lamp Recycling received its first permit from Kildare County Council in 1992, this permit has being renewed since on a number of occasions, without any issues being raised, incorporating all current environmental and planning legislation.
For more information on Irish Lamp Recycling please visit http://www.ilr.ie and for information on WEEE Ireland please visit https://weeeireland.wpengine.com
ABOUT WEEELABEX:
The 2012 recast WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU) encouraged Member States to introduce standards for harmonising and improving the quality of WEEE recycling and treatment across Europe. To date Ireland and the Netherlands have introduced mandatory requirements for treatment of separately collected waste electrical equipment to WEEELABEX or other EN standard. The established of the WEEELABEX standard has paved the way for the development of EN 50625 which will replace WEEELABEX as the industry-recycling standard in coming years. Other EN standards in relation to collection and preparation for reuse of WEEE material are also in development. CENELEC (www.cenelec.eu) is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization and is responsible for standardisation in the electrotechnical engineering field.