TV and radio presenter Laura Woods is calling on schools and students across Ireland to become battery recycling champions as WEEE Ireland’s Schools Battery Recycling Competition enters its 13th year.
The equivalent of 1.5 million used AA batteries—the weight of almost four school buses—were saved from landfill and recycled by primary and secondary students during the last school year thanks to their overwhelming participation across Ireland.
Laura was joined by Roundwood National School in Wicklow to launch this year’s campaign, which also supports LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.
Roundwood National School was awarded €2,000 in sports vouchers for its commitment to sustainability along with five other schools, including three in Sligo and one in both Dublin and Roscommon, who each won in their category.
“A huge congratulations to the winning schools whose recycling efforts not only make a significant environmental impact but also provide essential support to the children and families who depend on LauraLynn’s services,” said Laura.
“It’s inspiring to see so many schools engage in this important drive to rescue millions of batteries that might otherwise sit forgotten in drawers or old devices and ensure their valuable materials can be recovered for reuse.”
The WEEE Ireland’s Schools Battery Recycling Competition returns this October for a new school year, and is open to all primary and secondary schools in WEEE Ireland battery recycling counties that collect at least 10 full 5kg battery boxes.
Last year’s competition marked a new milestone, with a record number of primary and secondary schools participating from October 2023 to March of this year.
By actively encouraging the involvement of teachers, families, and the broader community to collect used batteries for recycling, students can ensure that valuable materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper are recovered and reused, rather than lost to landfill.
“The new European Battery Regulations, applicable from earlier this year, introduce comprehensive rules to manage the entire lifecycle of batteries within the EU,” said Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland.
“Minimum material recovery targets for materials like cobalt, lithium, and nickel will apply to various battery types, ensuring valuable materials are recaptured.
“These new targets will require increased participation in battery recycling across all sectors, so we’d urge even more to join the drive this year and make a real difference to saving materials that are increasingly in scarce supply.”
Kerry McLaverty, CEO of LauraLynn, expressed her gratitude as each battery recycled through WEEE Ireland contributes to a donation fund for LauraLynn.
“The funds we have received from WEEE Ireland as a result of the battery campaign have had such a positive impact on the children and families who avail of LauraLynn’s care and specialised supports all across Ireland,” she said.
“This year’s donation brings the total fundraising to €590,575 – an incredible level. WEEE Ireland has been partnering with and supporting us since day one and we are grateful for their continued support as we grow our community of care and support more children and families than ever before.
“We’d also like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to recycle their batteries. It may seem like something small, but for the children and families who rely on LauraLynn, and for the environment, it is huge and very impactful.”
Schools interested in participating in the WEEE Ireland Schools Batteries competition can visit weeeireland.ie for more information on the competition and to order WEEE Ireland Blue Battery boxes.