Ireland and other European nations risk jeopardising green energy sources if they fail to hit EU targets to recycle critical raw materials, the country's largest e-waste recycling scheme has warned.
Electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar power generators all require components such as lithium, magnesium, copper and nickel – but WEEE Ireland has said Europe is importing the vast bulk of these.
According to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Ireland’s annual report published today, consumers in Ireland recycled a record amount of e-waste items last year - 40,804 tonnes or just over 10kg per person.
A total of 19.5 million appliances were recovered in 2022, including 113,000 fridges, 225,000 TVs and monitors and 2.2m lighting items.
However, it said Ireland fell short of Europe’s 65% takeback target for overall e-waste, measured against new appliance sales which surged by an average 25kg per person last year, up from 22kg in 2021.
WEEE Ireland is now warning that Ireland needs to meet a forthcoming EU target to recycle at least 15% of its annual consumption of critical raw materials from this e-waste.
"Recent global events and the energy crisis have underscored the vulnerabilities of relying on other countries for critical raw materials," said CEO of WEEE Ireland Leo Donovan.
"The EU currently imports 93% of its magnesium and 86% of its rare earth metals from China. We need secure and sustainable sources of these materials within the EU or we risk jeopardising the supply of vital technologies required for our future green and digital transitions."
"As the world embraces a more sustainable future and shifts away from fossil fuels, the demand for lithium alone, a vital component in batteries that power everyday technology and devices, is projected to increase twelve-fold by 2030.
"To address these challenges, the EU aims to ensure that by 2030, at least 15% of the critical raw materials consumed annually originate from European recycled sources under the forthcoming Critical Raw Materials Act.
"Old and broken electronics and appliances are a rich source of essential critical raw materials, so it is vital that Irish households recycle the millions of broken and perfectly recyclable electrical items that are accumulating in our homes or being improperly disposed of."
The annual report shows that 52% of electrical waste was collected from retailer sites in 2022, 24% from local public collection days, but only 24% from local authority sites, which is significantly lower than the 60% average in other European countries.
Ireland surpassed the EU’s 45% target for waste portable batteries – collecting 1,202 tonnes, up 11% on 2021.
"I cannot stress enough how important it is to recycle your e-waste through authorised recycling centres to ensure the safe and efficient recovery and reuse of materials," added Mr Donovan.
"Recycling centres and retailers are easily accessible to everyone, along with public collection days that we hold in different counties each week."
WEEE Ireland manages the collection of household e-waste, lighting and batteries from authorised collection points for recycling, on behalf of its 1,300 producer members.
