Hundreds of locals recycle 37.5 tonnes of electronic waste

Over 581 cars made the journey to the recycling days which marked Meath's first European Recycling Platform (ERP) recycling days in 2010, in Ashbourne and Oldcastle. Over 37.5 tonnes of e-waste was collected. Martin Tobin, general manager of ERP Ireland, said: "The event shows the spirit and dedication of Meath residents to recycling and it was no surprise that so many turned out to the event. It is encouraging to be able to work so closely with the community and we hope that future recycling days held in Meath throughout the rest of the year will be just as successful." According to a recent survey carried out by ERP, Meath residents are annual recyclers and are more likely to bring larger items rather than small items, such as TVs and computers, to their local recycling centre. Research also shows that Meath households have at least one or two broken or unwanted items of electrical waste or batteries in their homes. E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe and ERP is urging households to dispose of these items responsibly. Councillor William Carey, cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, who attended the most recent electronic open day, commented: "2009 was a great year for e-waste collection in Meath and today is another recycling success for residents in Meath, having pulled together and reached their county's target. I would urge more to get involved in future recycling open days." The radio station i105-107FM had live links to both free e-cycling days encouraging locals to get involved and reach their county's recycling targets. The European Recycling Platform was set up in December 2002 by Braun, Electrolux, HP and Sony in response to the introduction of the European Union's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. ERP's mission is to ensure cost effective implementation of the directive, for the benefit of the participating companies and their customers. This is achieved through innovative waste management strategies and by encouraging national implementation of the directive according to a set of core principles, fundamental to the protection of consumers and business, as well as the environment. ERP is the first WEEE compliance scheme to be permitted and to launch operations in multiple European countries and thus the first scheme to pass on the advantages of multinational recycling operations to the consumer. ERP has proved to be the most competitive solution for companies in the countries where it has started to operate.