Donal Hickey: Got a junk drawer like this? Time to get repairing or recycling...
Increasing product lifetime and improving ‘circularity’ are essential steps towards reducing impacts from electronics.
It may be going against our ‘throwaway’ society's trends, but the EU is strongly urging us to repair used, or damaged, electrical goods rather than purchasing replacements.
We are buying more and more such goods, but their lifespan is not substantially increasing. And many are not properly recycled when we finish with them.
Time was when people in Ireland got all sorts of broken things fixed, from shoes to radios to washing machines. Every town had plenty of repair shops, but very many have long since disappeared — apart from bike shops which have a market arising from the renewed popularity of cycling.
I remember two gifted men in my native rural community being experts at repairing clocks and a variety of gadgets they were presented with. Such useful people were found all over the country.
Now, in the face of rapidly-growing use of electrical goods, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) is calling on us to stretch product lifespans so as to lower demand for new products.
Benefits accruing would mean reduced use of raw materials, less pressure on waste management systems, and decreased dependency at European level on global supply chains.
But the question still remains: where do you go for repairs?
Use of electrical goods in the EU spiralled between 2000 and 2025, with household expenditure on electrical and electronic appliances increasing by 21% (adjusted for inflation) during the period.
A similar situation pertains in Ireland and the sale of household appliances here is projected to rise annually by more than 4% up to 2030, boosted by a growing population.
Another issue, of course, is the additional demand for energy from such appliances — especially water heating (immersion), tumble driers, kettles, washing machines, and fridge freezers.
According to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Ireland (WEEE), the collection rate for used items here is around 40% — well short of the 65% EU target. International research shows headphones and remote controls to be the most hoarded items, followed by clocks and irons, which could also be true here.
Globally, electronics is one of the fastest growing waste streams due to the unprecedented amount of items being produced. This waste is also the most hazardous if not properly managed, potentially causing major health and environmental problems.
In 2023, a record 41,730 tonnes of electronic waste were recycled here, amounting to 18 million appliances. Much also ended up in general household bins.
Calling for more recycling, WEEE Ireland chief executive, Leo Donovan, said: “Most householders have a hidden treasure trove of broken, unused or unwanted electrical (goods) in their homes."
For starters, just look around for used chargers, battery-operated toys, and countless batteries…
