When it Comes to Recycling, One Small Action Can Make a Huge Difference
April 27, 2018
Small Things Matter: Charge Up Your Effort this Spring
23 April, 2018 – WEEE Ireland, Ireland’s largest electrical and battery recycling scheme, has launched its inaugural ‘Small Things Matter’ campaign to encourage Irish householders to recycle waste lightbulbs and small electrical household items to benefit our environment and the children and families receiving assistance and care from LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice. As the sun begins to shine this Spring, householders should feel energised to get stuck into a Spring Clean and recycle every waste lightbulb or electrical item gathering dust in their home.
Why Small Things Matter
By 2019, Ireland must reach a target to recycle 65% of electrical waste on the market, made up largely of the types of everyday electronic items most of us find lying in the corners of our drawers and cupboards. Small Things Matter because meeting ambitious targets such as this is only possible with the help of households, businesses and schools in and across Ireland taking small actions.
Remember These 3 Things to Play Your Part
To help each of us play our part, WEEE Ireland is making it easy for everyone to do the right thing with three simple reminders: that recycling your waste lightbulbs and small electronic household items is free, easy and local.
- It’s Free: Any small electrical item with a plug or battery can be recycled for free. So, whether you’re returning an old set of speakers or clearing out the entire garden shed of electric lawnmowers and drills, there are no worries about bin charges here – it’s completely free.
- It’s Easy: Every piece of Small WEEE can easily be recycled at recycling points across the country. It’s simple, return small electrical waste to your local recycling centre or electrical retailer and waste lightbulbs to recycling centres and hardware stores.
- It’s Local: Recycling electrical and lighting waste benefits the environment, allowing plastics, metals and glass to be recovered for manufacturing. 100% of Small WEEE returned is recycled here in Ireland. Visit smallthingsmatter.ie to view WEEE Ireland’s interactive map and find out where your nearest recycling point is located.
Taken together, simple individual actions taken across the country have the power to make a lasting difference. Recycling waste lightbulbs and electronic household items contributes towards reaching our 65% target and supports WEEE Ireland’s continued partnership with LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice.
“Far from being ‘a nation of wasters’, the recycling reality in Ireland is quite the opposite, particularly when it comes to electrical and electronic goods,” said Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland. “Irish people are consistently among the most prolific recyclers in Europe with each of us playing our part – and it’s not just our environment that sees the benefits. By recycling and supporting LauraLynn, we are all helping to improve the quality of life for the children living with life-limiting conditions and their families. That is why Small Things Matter.”
Since 2011, WEEE Ireland’s partnership with LauraLynn has led to donations of over €335,000. By simply recycling lightbulbs, hair straighteners or toasters rather than putting them in the bin, together we are supporting the staff at LauraLynn to deliver invaluable hospice care and emotional, social and spiritual support for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Irish householders are working hard to live sustainably, recycle and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. At the same time, WEEE Ireland are also aware that the past months have seen a number of challenges face even the most committed recycling households, with growing uncertainty and media attention around what can be recycled, when and at how much of a cost.
Despite significant attention on China’s decision to ban the import of recyclable material from Europe since the beginning of 2018, there’s never been a better time for Irish consumers to recycle their small electronic goods and lightbulbs.
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For further information
Contact: James Ringland, Hume Brophy, 0861428977 / james.ringland@humebrophy.com
About WEEE Ireland
WEEE Ireland (Waste, Electrical and Electronic Equipment) is a not for profit organisation, founded by Producers of electrical and electronic appliances to help them comply with the legal obligations imposed by the EU Battery Directive 2006/66/EC and WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU. WEEE Ireland manages the collection of household WEEE, lighting equipment and batteries from authorised collection points for recycling, on behalf of its Producer members. WEEE Ireland’s objective is to provide cost effective compliance for Producers to meet the requirements of the Regulations whilst minimising the cost to the consumer All small electrical waste is recycled at our operator’s state of the art facilities in Ireland, recovering resources for use again in manufacturing. All other waste appliances and batteries collected by WEEE Ireland are prepared for recycling in Ireland with final processing carried out at specialist plants in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. www.weeeireland.ie
For an interactive map to find your nearest participating retailer or local authority recycling centre and to find out more about what you can recycle, visit www.smallthingsmatter.ie.
About LauraLynn
LauraLynn, is Ireland’s only children’s hospice. It provides a range of services to children with life-limiting conditions and their families including, symptom management; music and play therapy; psychological support; family and sibling camps; short breaks and end of life care. Care can be availed of in the hospice in Leopardstown, at hospital, in the community, or in the family home, depending on the child and family’s preference
LauraLynn also provides vital bereavement supports to families after they have lost a child.
More than 3,800 children with life-limiting conditions live in Ireland; approximately one in five of these children requires hospice care. LauraLynn Children’s Hospice is hugely dependant on the generosity of the public and business community to provide care free of charge to families. In 2018, LauraLynn must generate €4.2million through fundraised income.
Since opening in 2011, LauraLynn has cared for more than 330 children and their families.
For further information, please visit www.lauralynn.ie