Schools Battery Recycling Competition Winners
We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2025/2026 Schools Battery Recycling Competition!
A huge well done and congratulations to all the students, staff and those who supported them.
PRIMARY SCHOOL WINNERS 2025-2026 |
| Small Primary School Winner (Less than 100 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 77,550 AA batteries! What did you learn from recycling waste batteries for the WEEE Ireland Schools Battery Recycling Competition? We learned that even the smallest battery can make a BIG difference! We discovered that waste batteries should never be thrown in the bin because they can be recycled and turned into useful new materials. By collecting our waste batteries, we learned that recycling is about protecting our planet, saving valuable resources and helping to make Ireland a cleaner and greener place. We were amazed to see how many batteries we could collect when everyone joined in, and we really had fantastic fun. We are now battery-recycling superheroes, and we know that every used battery we recycle is one more little step towards a healthier, happier planet! |
| Medium Primary School Winner (100 – 299 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 61,950 AA batteries! What did you learn from recycling waste batteries for the WEEE Ireland Schools Battery Recycling Competition? We learned that recycling batteries helps look after our planet. We learned that old batteries shouldn’t be thrown in the bin because they can be harmful to the environment. Recycling them means the useful materials inside can be used again. We also learned that even something small, like bringing old batteries into school, can make a big difference when everyone joins in. Together we can make a big difference. We liked that our whole school worked together to see how many batteries we could collect. |
| Large Primary School Winner (More than 300 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 113,650 AA batteries! What did you learn from recycling waste batteries for the WEEE Ireland Schools Battery Recycling Competition? We learned that recycling waste batteries properly is really important. That waste batteries should never be thrown into ordinary rubbish bins because they can cause fires and even make bins vehicles dangerous. By recycling them correctly, we can help keep everyone safer. We learned to be brave and ask people for help. Some of us went to our neighbours, friends and family to ask if they had any old batteries that we could recycle. It was a little scary asking at first, but we soon got used to it especially when we knew we were helping our school and the environment! Most of all, we had loads of fun learning! |
SECONDARY SCHOOL WINNERS |
| Small Secondary School Winner (Less than 300 students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 5,050 AA batteries! What did you learn from recycling waste batteries for the WEEE Ireland Schools Battery Recycling Competition? We learned that a lot of people have loads of used batteries lying around the house. When we asked them to bring them to school to be recycled, they were delighted and brought boxes and bags full of old batteries! |
| Medium Secondary School Winner (Between 300 – 599 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 105,400 AA batteries! What did you learn from recycling waste batteries for the WEEE Ireland Schools Battery Recycling Competition? We learned about lots of different battery types and how they are recycled. The students loved the hands-on nature of the competition and also that fact that it is raising funds for charity. We organised a competition between Year Groups, with a pizza party for the Year Group with the most batteries. The competition allowed students to take concrete action against an environmental issue and make a definite impact on the school community and the wider community of Tullamore Town. |
| Large Secondary School Winner (More than 600 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 208,600 AA batteries! What did you learn from recycling waste batteries for the WEEE Ireland Schools Battery Recycling Competition? As part of our TY Green-Schools module, coordinating the battery drive taught us as much about teamwork and leadership as it did about environmental science. We had to organise the logistics of safe storage, motivate students and staff, and get our local community involved to maximise our collection numbers. Knowing that our recycling efforts directly support the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice made the project even more rewarding, it proved that local sustainability initiatives can drive both environmental and meaningful social change. |
PRIMARY SCHOOL WINNERS 2024-2025 |
| Small Primary School Winner (Less than 100 Students)
C Who recycled the equivalent of 69,050 AA batteries! Did you involve anybody outside of the school to help collect batteries for the school? We publicised the competition extensively and requested donations of batteries from all families, friends and members of the community. And local supermarkets and other shops to donated batteries in our community. Was there anywhere you got batteries from that you didn’t know had batteries in it? Toys, key fobs, game controllers & calculators! |
| Medium Primary School Winner (100 – 499 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 50,050 AA batteries! Why did your school want to get involved in the Battery Recycling Challenge? Our school wanted to get involved in the Battery Recycling Challenge to help raise awareness about the importance of recycling as part of our Green School Committee. We felt it showed how small changes, like recycling batteries, can make a big difference. We also thought the prize was really good! What are your best tips for collecting the most amount of batteries? Use social media to spread the word! Get everyone in the community involved, friends, family and neighbours. Make it easy for people to dispose of their used batteries by having collection containers in every classroom and in the school hall. |
| Large Primary School Winner (More than 500 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 31,650 AA batteries! Did your school any initiatives to encourage as many students as possible to take part? We spoke about the battery collection at assemblies and had a competition between the classes to see which class could collect the most. Announcing the winners at assemblies and encouraging competition between classes helped us collect so many. What have you learnt from your battery drive? We learned that we can make the biggest difference when we work together. |
loonfour National School
Bearna Primary School
Glór na Mara National School
SECONDARY SCHOOL WINNERS |
| Small Secondary School Winner (Less than 300 students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 11,700 AA batteries! What did your school do to get everyone involved in recycling batteries? We promoted the initiative daily through announcements on the school intercom and displayed reminders throughout the school to encourage participation. We posted messages on social media and we worked with our local community to try to get everyone involved. What has been your favourite part about collecting and recycling batteries? The teamwork involved and the sense of achievement from seeing how many batteries we were able to collect were the most rewarding aspects.
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| Medium Secondary School Winner (Between 300 – 599 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 28,100 AA batteries! What did your school do to get everyone involved in recycling batteries? The Green Schools Committee within our school started an Awareness Campaign by placing posters around the school to encourage all members of the school community to engage with this challenge. Regular emails were also sent to all the teaching staff to encourage their and their classes participation as well. Families of our students were also involved as we highlighted the need for their support through our social media campaign and through our weekly school newsletter. We were delighted by the huge support we received from all members of our school community. Was there anywhere you got batteries from that you didn’t know had batteries in it? Yes, some of the equipment in the Science labs in our school, for example digital thermometers and pH testers. |
| Large Secondary School Winner (More than 600 Students)
Who recycled the equivalent of 74,050 AA batteries! What has been your favourite part about collecting and recycling batteries? We found it very fun and enjoyed being part of a competition. It made it competitive for us and we became more determined because of that. We worked together and made new friends also in the process. It also taught us the importance of recycling and just how many batteries are used in everyone’s daily lives. What have you learnt from your battery drive? We have learned just how many batteries are actually out there within communities that are being discarded incorrectly. We placed a great emphasis on encouraging our community and families to recycle them and its scary to think that if we didn’t do this, where would the batteries have ended up. It has certainly taught us just how important it is to recycle them to avoid them going into landfills. |
Coláiste Mhuire
St Mary’s CBS,
PRIMARY SCHOOL WINNERS 2023-2024 |
| Small Primary School Winner (Less than 100 Students)
Kilteevan National School Kilteevan, Co. Roscommon Kilteevan National School recycled the equivalent of 22,650 batteries! Did you involve anybody outside of the school to help collect batteries for the school? “Yes. Our teachers put posts on our school’s Facebook page to tell our local community that we were taking part in the competition. Our parents told their work friends and asked them to help us to collect lots of batteries. The local Tidy Towns committee and the local Community Development Group helped us to spread the word to the local community by sending out text messages, sharing our Facebook posts and asking their members and friends to collect batteries for us. Our community postman even offered to collect donations of batteries at the houses in the area and drop them to us. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us!” |
| Medium Primary School Winner (100 – 499 Students)
Roundwood National School Roundwood, Co. Wicklow Roundwood National School recycled the equivalent of 95,000 batteries!
What did your school do to get everyone involved in recycling batteries? “Roundwood National School fully engaged their community to collect as many batteries as possible. They posted on social media to let the town know they were collecting for the competition, and put a notice in local papers to spread their message across Roundwood.They also teamed up with their local hardware store who helped collect batteries at their store. Parents were bringing in bag fulls of batteries and everyone got really involved.” |
| Large Primary School Winner (More than 500 Students)
Scoil Naomh Pádraig recycled the equivalent of 20,600 batteries!
Why did your school decide to enter the competition? “We signed up because we saw it on News2Day and we thought it looked really fun. We are a Green Schools so we know how important recycling is so we decided to give it a go!” How did your school get everyone involved in recycling batteries? “We stuck up posters around the school, and me and my friends talked at our school assembly. We let all the parents know, and then all the batteries started to arrive in our classroom.” |
SECONDARY SCHOOL WINNERS 2023-2024 |
| Small Secondary School Winner (Less than 300 students)
St Mary’s College, Co. Sligo Mary’s College recycled the equivalent of 79,350 batteries!
Did you involve anybody outside of the school to help collect batteries for the school? “The whole school community got involved because we used our social media to reach out. It was brilliant, even people who didn’t have kids in the school got involved because they saw it online. The community response was unreal! So many people got involved and it created a great sense of community for everyone in the school and surrounding areas.” What are your best tips for collecting the most amount of batteries? “Involve the community and make it fun! It’s amazing what a bit of competition does!” |
| Medium Secondary School Winner (Between 300 – 599 Students)
Sligo Grammar School, Co. Sligo Sligo Grammar School recycled the equivalent of 16,150 batteries!
What did your school do to get everyone involved in recycling batteries? “We ran an in-house competition to see who could collect the most batteries, we offered a prize of €50. We also visited classrooms to speak to students and we made lots of posters for the school.” What have you learnt from your battery drive? “I have improved my confidence talking to my peers about environmental issues.“ How will you make sure you, your friends and family will remember to recycle your batteries? “By reminding them and placing a blue box in a visible location, batteries can then be brought to school or to a local supermarket.” |
| Large Secondary School Winner (More than 600 Students)
Ursuline College Sligo, Co. Sligo Ursuline College Sligo recycled the equivalent of 16,450 batteries!
Why did your school want to get involved in the Battery Recycling Challenge? “We got involved as a CSPE project initially. We were learning about the environment and being active citizens.” What has been your favourite part about collecting and recycling batteries? “We made a class mascot Bianca battery a very glamorous giant battery girl. She also had a handsome companion Bailey AAA. We also made battery people with pipe cleaners and googly eyes and took shots of them around the school and turned it into a TikTok. It was posted on our social media and encouraged everyone to bring in batteries.” |
