Eight tonnes of waste gathered in recycling event in one town

Eight tonnes of waste were gathered at a recycling event in west Wicklow.

Organised by the Blessington Allotments Campaign, it’s an annual event and it took place at McGreal’s Primary Care Centre in the town and was hosted by WEEE Ireland. 

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Residents from throughout the area dropped off their electrical, battery and lighting waste to the WEEE collection point, with approximately eight tonnes of material collected overall. 

They were asked to drop down anything with a plug or battery, with old laptops, cables, batteries, dryers and more dropped off for recycling on the day. 

This was the second year of this event which has now contributed to more than 16 tonnes of electrical recycling waste collected in Blessington in two years. 

This project was prioritised following news from Wicklow County Council that in 2024 people living in the county recycled an average of 7.5 kgs of e-waste per person, below the national average of 9.5 kgs. The initiatives carried out help to increase the county-wide level of e-waste recycling. 

“We were delighted to work with WEEE Ireland, McGreal’s Primary Care Centre, Blessington Tourist Office and Wicklow County Council to organise the collection day for Blessington. All items collected are given a second life when components are reused in new manufacturing processes,” said Dónal McCormack, Chairperson of the BAC. 

“A huge thanks to all for helping to promote this event and to McGreals for the use of their premises for this project.” 

The BAC is an environmental advocacy group, set up in 2018 to campaign for the provision of community growing spaces in the Blessington area. In recent months, the group worked with the tourist office to provide 200 free battery recycling boxes for members of the community to collect their own batteries for recycling. 

“Partnership between groups helps to encourage a sustainable future for our towns and villages and it’s an example of how groups working together can have a positive impact both for the town and the environment”, Mr McCormack concluded.