Irish consumers recycled a record 21.1 million electronic and electrical waste items in 2025, but Ireland still fell short of the EU’s e-waste collection target, according to new data from WEEE Ireland.
The organisation’s annual report shows that close to 39,000 tonnes of e-waste were collected nationwide last year, equivalent to 7,425 truckloads.
The total was up from 18.8 million items in 2024 and included 18.5 million small appliances, 1.9 million lighting products, 278,222 TVs and monitors and 123,060 fridge-freezers.
However, WEEE Ireland said Ireland remained below Europe’s 65% collection target because of the way e-waste performance is measured.
Under the current system, collection rates are calculated against the volume of new electrical goods placed on the market over the previous three years. In 2025, Irish producers placed 25kg of household electrical equipment per person on the market.
Current collection rate targets do not adequately reflect modern consumption patterns, long product lifespans, or emerging technologies such as solar PV systems and heat pumps
WEEE Ireland said this sales-based target does not fully account for longer product lifespans or newer technologies, such as solar panels and heat pumps, which may not enter the recycling stream for decades.
Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland, said: “Ireland is recycling more electrical waste than ever before and consumers are making a real effort to do the right thing. But Europe’s current measurement system was designed for a very different market.
“Current collection rate targets do not adequately reflect modern consumption patterns, long product lifespans, or emerging technologies such as solar PV systems and heat pumps.
“These products may not enter the recycling stream for decades, yet they are already included in today’s sales-based targets.”
The figures come as the WEEE Directive is being re-evaluated at European level. Donovan said WEEE Ireland supports “a more modern approach” to measuring the effectiveness of national recycling systems.
The report also found that 84% of counties increased their WEEE recycling rates year-on-year, while an average of 82% of materials collected were recovered for reuse in manufacturing. This exceeded the EU recovery requirement of 80%.
WEEE Ireland also collected 1,284 tonnes of portable waste batteries, achieving the EU’s 45% battery collection target.
Lithium battery collection has more than doubled in five years, while more than 1.4 million vape devices were recycled through the organisation’s national takeback scheme.
Donovan said the recovery of critical raw materials is becoming increasingly important as Europe seeks to improve resource security.
“Europe is moving towards a model where circular economy performance will matter just as much as collection volumes,” he said.
“The focus now has to move beyond simply collecting waste to ensuring valuable materials including lithium, copper, cobalt and aluminium are recovered to strict standards and kept within the circular economy.”
Consumers can recycle old and broken electrical items and waste batteries free of charge through local authority civic amenity centres, participating retailers and WEEE Ireland collection events.