WEEE Ireland, The Irish Compliance Scheme for Electrical and Battery Recycling

The project, funded by the Circular Economy Innovation Grant and led by FIT (Fastrack into Information Technology), aims to address the shortage of Consumer Electronics Service and Repair Technicians in Ireland. FIT and WEEE Ireland are collaborating on this initiative with a goal to encourage more repair and reuse activities within the Consumer Electronics sector by introducing the Circular Economy Skillset Initiatives (CESI). The course developed by FIT will be the first of its kind in Ireland, focusing on preventive maintenance, repair, and reuse in Consumer Electronics, thereby supporting a more circular and sustainable economy. The project's pilot phase will run from August 2023 to April 2024.

Refurbed is Ireland’s leading marketplace for refurbished electronics. Refurbed sells cheaper, more sustainable tech to consumers and businesses, and helps minimise Ireland's e-waste. Refurbed offers a min. 12-month warranty and flexible payments, with other benefits such as: BuyBack (businesses can easily sell old devices to refurbed partners), and Plus (insurance for consumers to further lengthen device life). Refurbed plants a native tree for every product sold.

Signify, the world's largest lighting manufacturer, has a strong commitment to increasing their Circular revenue to 32% by 2025. With over 125 years of experience, Signify continues to innovate in LED lighting and is leading the industry’s expansion to lighting systems in both the professional and consumer markets. In a notable project for 2023, Signify has received partial funding from the European Green Deal to implement energy-efficient LED lighting in the Dublin Port Tunnel. This initiative is expected to save €4 million over the next 5 years. Additionally, Signify demonstrated their circular efforts by reusing the existing fittings for all the light points in the tunnel.

In 2022, WEEE Ireland commissioned the consultancy dss+ to survey White Goods Association's members and other home appliances producers on the Irish market in relation to their repair activity (reference year 2020). The aim of this study was to better understand and measure the repair initiatives already in place in Ireland.

Beko has introduced a range of appliances that incorporate parts made from recycled fishnets, industrial thread waste, and recycled plastic bottles. By transforming recycled materials into high performance appliance parts, Beko are striving to reduce their carbon footprint. Beko has also committed to investing in energy efficiency and in 2020, their production plants became carbon neutral.

Whirlpool offers a wide range of genuine spare parts and accessories for their household and garden appliances at low prices. Spare parts can be bought directly on the Whirlpool website. The company also offers a repair service to extend the life of their products.

To better respond to recyclers’ needs, APPLiA and DIGITALEUROPE created a single central online platform – the Information for Recyclers Platform (I4R) – where recyclers can access recycling information at product category level. Published in 2018, the platform is hosted and maintained by the WEEE Forum, an international association of producer responsibility organisations and a centre of competence.

Glen Dimplex Ireland (GDI) offers repair services for their appliances. GDI refurbish all major appliances that are returned for re-sale. GDI also offer genuine spare parts for their repair technicians and for sale for end users. A significant share of their spare parts come from returned appliances.

Conns Cameras is a family-run business situated in Dublin city centre. While their primary activity is to sell cameras and other photography and video equipment, Conns Cameras have provided trade-in options and equipment rental for many years. Repair services can also be facilitated through the company. In 2021, more than 750 reused EEE units were sold. as second-hand equipment makes up a significant portion of Conns Cameras’ business.

The new ‘Circular Economy Skills Initiative’ (CESI) course aims to train technicians to ensure thousands of washing machines, fridges and dishwashers are given a new lease of life across the country. WEEE Ireland, the White Goods Association and technical training agency FIT (FastTrack to Information Technology) joined forces to create this innovative curriculum and career pathway.

Fagerhult develops and manufactures professional lighting systems for public environments, indoor and outdoor. One of their sustainability initiatives, Whitecroft Vitality, is a new approach to circularity, offering maintaince checks and upgrades to luminaires. This way, the whole luminaire does not need to be replaced and thus keeps the product in the economy for additional lifecycles.

The Long-Life Lithium Battery (LLLB) innovation demonstration project aims to identify and isolate damaged modules from existing waste lithium battery flows in Ireland and investigate the potential for refurbishment and reuse of undamaged modules. LLLB is a pilot partnership between WEEE Ireland, KMK Metals Recycling and Wisetek Solutions.

In 2020 and 2022, WEEE Ireland funded the attendance of some of our Members to the MODOS Green enterprise and Circular Economy course. Organised by Dublin County Council, this course aims to give small and medium enterprises the skills and tools to develop their circular practices.

In 2020 and 2021, WEEE Ireland partnered with the White Goods Association to promote authorised repair of electrical appliances on RepairMyStuff.ie, an online platform which connects consumers with over 800 professionals in Ireland able to repair everything from watches to washing machines and as well as toys, textiles, furniture and more.

ReVolv was an initiative led by Votechnik and the University of Limerick, including Allied Automation, WEEE Ireland and the WEEE Forum. This project, developed by a consortium of researchers, recyclers and engineers, aimed to solve the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) stockpiling issue in Europe.

In 2020, as part of its membership with CIRCULÉIRE, WEEE Ireland surveyed around 130 Producer Members on their understanding, challenges and activities related to the Circular Economy. In a follow-up survey in early 2021, WEEE Ireland asked members to report on their existing circular practices for the first time.

In 2020, WEEE Ireland became a founding member of CIRCULÉIRE. Through our membership with this national platform for circular manufacturing, our scheme is actively involved in collaborative work related to Circular Economy innovation on behalf of our Members. In 2021, WEEE Ireland and partners secured funding for two projects from CIRCULÉIRE’s Innovation Fund.

WEEE Ireland has an ongoing partnership with Recycle IT, an award-winning not-for-profit social enterprise which creates sustainable local employment through a community based professional waste management services.