Ireland make the top 5 on WEEE

The organisation, which is tasked with overseeing compliance with the EU WEEE Directive revealed that Irish consumers recycled more than 21m electrical products since the directive came into force three years ago.

Only Sweden, Norway and Switzerland recycled more WEEE.

Under the WEEE Directive, importers, rebranders and manufacturers are obliged to collect WEEE and dispose of it appropriately, in proportion to the amount of equipment they produce.

Businesses that use and sell electric and electronic equipment are also obliged to recycle or reuse their old goods.

Most of the disposal in Ireland is done through a network of producer compliance schemes, which collect and process the WEEE on behalf of manufacturers and distributors.

Producers are obliged to register with the WEEE Register Society and report the number of units and weights of electrical and electronic equipment placed into the Irish market on a monthly basis.