Projecting the split between historic and non-historic WEEE in Ireland

This paper presents work carried out to address the shortage of a reliable means for determining the future arisings of historic WEEE levels in Ireland. By using modelling techniques in conjunction with available databases, researchers were able to determine WEEE levels and historic WEEE percentages for Ireland over the period of 2000 to 2020. The data generation focused on those EEE types which contribute the largest amounts of WEEE each year by weight, namely the cooling, large domestic appliance and television WEEE categories and were the source of contention about the continued use of visible fees. The model used was developed previously by UNU to examine total WEEE generated and has been tailored specifically to Ireland using data gathered from a number of disparate sources including housing stock and penetration rates of appliances to examine only historic WEEE generated. The model outputs have been processed to determine EEE sales and total WEEE figures, as well as the historic to non-historic WEEE ratio in the market for each of the 20-year period of interest from year to year. Relevant model outputs for all WEEE categories considered are presented in this paper, along with the associated sampled data findings used to validate the model findings. historic WEEE percentages (of total WEEE) across the 3 categories of interest are still significant contributors to the annual WEEE in Ireland, comprising 69% for Cooling and Freezing, 59% for Large Appliances and 77% for Television WEEE. These model results and associated predictions were validated using a statistically significant sampling of the WEEE categories of interest in Ireland over the course of one year. Cooling and Freezing, Large Household Appliance (LHA) and TV WEEE were sampled at regular intervals at a number of different locations in order to determine the actual breakdown of historic vs. non-historic WEEE in the market for these goods. Furthermore, it allows for an annual process of measurement and corroboration to be implemented going forward and informs national discussions on the continued use of visible fees.