erp annual report for batteries operations 2014

European Recycling Platform

Annual Report for

Battery Operations 2014

14

ERP Ireland Annual Report for Battery Operations 2014 1

Table of Contents

This Annual Report 2014 is submitted to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government by ERP Ireland in accordance with the requirements of its approval issued under the Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)) Regulations (S.I. No. 355 of 2011) and S.I. No. 268 of 2008 Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2008. This report was submitted on April 30th, 2015.

Approval under Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)) Regulations (S.I. No. 355 of 2011) was granted by the Minister on July 30th, 2010. Approval under S.I. No. 268 of 2008 Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2008 was granted by the Minister on September 22nd, 2008.

This Annual Report contains commercially sensitive financial and operations data and should not be issued to any third party by the Department, either in response to Freedom of Information Act or any other form of request, without ERP’s written consent.

1. President’s Statement 2

2. Chief Executive Officer’s Statement 3

3. ERP Ireland Overview 4

3.1 Introduction 5

3.2 History 6

3.3 ERP Ireland Structure

3.4 ERP Ireland Activities 6

4. Collection and Treatment Operations 7

4.1 Establishment - ERP 8

4.2 Collection Arrangements 8

4.3 Treatment, Recovery and Recycling Service Providers 9

4.4 Battery Treatment 10

4.5 Operational Areas 10

5. Battery Statistics for 2014 11

5.1 Membership 2014 12

5.2 Materials Collected and Treated 12

5.3 Collection Rate per Head of Population 13

5.4 Collection and Operations 13

6. Communications - Batteries in 2014 14

6.1 Educational Awareness Campaigns 15

6.2 Recycling in the Community 18

6.3 Social Media 22

7. Financial Information 23

8. Outlook for 2015 25

Our ERP Branches 27

2 ERP Ireland Annual Report for Battery Operations 2014

As expected, 2014 results were ambiguous: extremely positive in terms of the territorial expansion of ERP’s services in Europe with a slight decline in collected volumes in various countries.

In 2014, ERP began operations in Sweden and Israel, our first country outside Europe. This expansion was accompanied by the EuropePlus

Package launch which is offered to producers that want to cover their European obligations using a single service provider. As already announced, the corporate structure of ERP has been enriched with the addition of a new shareholder. This allows ERP to extend its expertise in the management of packaging waste and maintain its planned expansion into new countries with different products.

As I have stated before, the negative forces that have influenced collection volumes have continued to prevail over the efforts made, not only by ERP, but by all compliance schemes which have attempted to increase the environmental awareness of citizens.

Unauthorised operators and other economic forces working outside the WEEE system have distracted the growing WEEE volume flows managed by the legitimate compliance schemes, stalling volume collection growth. This trend is worrying considering the new collection target set under the new European Directive, which provides for a substantial increase in volume collection in the coming years, but falls short of strictly standardising the participation of other WEEE system operators.

ERP is committed to drawing legislators’ attention to the dangers

1. President’s Statement

of legislation that brings about tight control on operators’ quality and legitimacy in the WEEE and batteries market. Legislation should not restrict the freedom of compliance schemes to organise themselves at their best so as to increase collection and treatment system efficiency. To do this, the ERP management has lobbied the European Parliament in Brussels to seek the proper implementation of the regulations in countries such as Italy, France and Portugal.

Through this lobbying, ERP has drawn attention to the fact that the current system, which is based on free competition and focused on cost containment for the entire community, will suffer from an imposition of new rules that will reduce competition for the majority of compliance schemes and step back to dangerous and harmful monopolies.

In such a scenario ERP, along with its 2,600 producers, is ready to face these new challenges, using the experience gained after nearly a decade of compliance scheme management. We are pursuing one of the goals contained in the original mission defined in 2005 which was to fight the creation of monopolies in European WEEE systems and to ensure efficient, secure and economical management of collection and recycling in Europe.

With my best wishes.

Umberto Raiteri President and CEO, ERP SAS


The collection of portable primary and

rechargeable batteries in Europe is

mandated by the Batteries Directive

2006/66/EC and requires Member

States to achieve a collection rate of

45% in 2016. In 2014, ERP Ireland

collected 148.5 tonnes or 28% of

what was placed on market and

achieved a collection rate of 36%.

I wish to congratulate all those who

have contributed to this positive result. ERP has met every target

since the introduction of this Directive in 2008 and although the

45% target will be challenging, we are confident it will be met.

Developments in ERP

ERP began 2014 celebrating the collection and recycling of over 2 million tonnes of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) since the start of its operations in Europe. The positive effect of this activity is the equivalent to the removal of 8 million cars from the road for one year around Europe and has prevented the emission of 21.7 million tonnes of C02 through the recovery of raw materials.

In June 2014, The Landbell Group, one of Germany’s leading compliance and waste disposal specialists, and the European Recycling Platform SAS (ERP) announced that the Landbell Group would become a shareholder of ERP. The companies joined forces to create a unique high-quality, one-stop-shop compliance and recycling service enabling customers to comply with various legal regulations worldwide. “For Landbell Group this acquisition of shares is an important step in our ongoing pursuit to provide comprehensive and quality recycling solutions to both existing and new customers in Europe,” says Jan Patrick Schulz, CEO of Landbell Group. “With its best-in-class, scalable cross-border compliance and recycling solutions, ERP is the ideal partner for us.”

ERP International Network Key Facts:

> ERP offers compliance and recycling services in 32 countries

> ERP currently operates 32 compliance schemes

> 100 employees constantly manage and monitor ERP services

> ERP has more than 3000 agreements with producer members

> 32 Fortune-500 companies are ERP members

Key achievements in 2014 have been:

> At the end of the year, we had 119 members in our WEEE and waste batteries compliance schemes.

> We collected 148.5 tonnes or 28% of what was placed on the market in 2014 representing a 36% increase on 2013.

> Our battery compliance market share is currently at 28%.

> Since we started in August 2008, we have collected 639 tonnes of batteries.

> Over 3,500 active battery collection points in ten local authority areas are covered by ERP Ireland.

> In addition to the member numbers shown above, we have over 2,462 retailers that are registered in respect of WEEE and batteries, and 686 primary schools and 500 pre-schools registered for small battery collections.

> We continue to operate to the best environmental standards in our recycling and recovery operations.

> We had major communications successes with a wide range of schools initiatives and other programmes promoting battery recycling.

> Our financial reserves remain strong.

I would like to thank our board for their guidance and support

during the year and our dedicated team for all their efforts on our

members’ behalf.

With my best regards,

Martin Tobin, CEO, ERP Ireland

2. Chief Executive Officer’s Statement

ERP Ireland Overview


3. ERP Ireland Overview

3.1 Introduction

ERP Ireland Ltd. is an approved body under the Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2008. Approval was granted by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in September 2008 and this has since been extended as we await our new approval.

Having consideration to the legal requirements of the approval, ERP

Ireland is pleased to present its Annual Activity Report covering the

period January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2014. ERP has been

granted approval to operate as an approved body for WEEE and

batteries.

Our report shows a successful performance by ERP Ireland in 2014

and major improvements in collection rates for waste batteries.

A key measure of our success is that we have met the targets

set under the Waste Management (Batteries and Accumulators)

Regulations 2008 and our interim target as prescribed in our Letter

of Approval. This is clearly seen in a collection figure in 2014 of

148.5 tonnes of waste batteries collected.

ERP Ireland had 119 members at the end of 2014. 16 producers

were members of the WEEE Compliance Scheme alone. 34

producers were members of the battery compliance scheme only

and 69 producers were members of both the WEEE and battery

schemes. Based on the volume of batteries placed on the market by

the members, ERP had an overall market share of 28.1% in 2014.

ERP Ireland worked closely with the eight/ nine Local Authorities and

the retailers in the geographic area covered by our operations to

ensure an excellent service in the collection of waste batteries from

the various locations. By the end of 2014, ERP Ireland collected

waste batteries from close to 900 collection points.

3.2 History

The European Recycling Platform (ERP) was established jointly by

Braun, Electrolux, HP and Sony in December 2002 in response to the

introduction of the European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic

Equipment (WEEE) Directive. ERP’s mission was, and continues to be,

to ensure the most cost effective implementation of the Directive for

the benefit of the participating companies, their customers and the

environment. This is achieved through providing competition in the

marketplace with our innovative waste management strategies and

by encouraging the implementation of the Directive across Europe

in accordance with our core principles.

ERP is the first WEEE and Waste Battery compliance scheme to be

permitted to operate in more than one EU Member State. In 2014,

ERP extended its services to 18 countries. ERP is the first scheme

to pass on the advantages of multinational recycling operations

to its members and ultimately to the consumer. ERP has proved to

be a competitive solution for companies in all countries where it

operates.

The countries where ERP is operational are Austria, Denmark,

Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal,

Spain, Slovakia, the Netherlands, the UK, China, Turkey, Israel and

Sweden. ERP is now managing 32 compliance schemes for WEEE,

batteries and packaging and has increased to 2,500 members;

ERP now collects over 7000 tonnes of waste batteries per annum.

ERP offers extended compliance services throughout the rest of the

EU through its Europe Plus Package.


3.3 ERP Ireland Structure In 2014, there were 2 retirements from the board. The board is

representative of our membership base and the presence of a

representative of large retailers with extensive WEEE experience on

a European level will further strengthen it going forward into the

future.

There are eight Directors on the Board of ERP Ireland, namely:

Umberto Raiteri, ERP SAS – Chairman and CEO

Noel Anthony McStay, REW (Secretary)

Thomas Gerard Lee, Electrolux

Philip Merrills-Dearn, Hewlett Packard

Philip Gerard Foley, Allied Irish Bank

Helge Åmotsbakken, Dixons Group

Sushil Teji, Sony Ireland

Khushroo Marolia, Procter & Gamble.

ERP Ireland is managed by the CEO, Martin Tobin, and he is

supported by five staff members. ERP’s business model, both in

Ireland and Europe, is to retain a small core staff and outsource

operations and support functions such as finance to specialists.

The Head Office of ERP Ireland is located at 2-4 Ely Place, Dublin 2.

3.4 ERP Ireland Activities

Under the European Union’s Batteries and Accumulators Directive,

producers who place batteries on the market are required to provide

for the collection and treatment of these batteries when they

are disposed of by the consumer. Under the legislation, battery

producers may choose to be self-compliant or they may transfer

their battery compliance commitment to an approved compliance

scheme.

ERP is one such approved compliance scheme and it supports its

members through:

> The collection and arranging for the treatment of waste batteries. Our pricing is based on 3 differing models including a placed on market model and a collected/treated model, which both reflect the true cost of recycling

> We provide members with updates on batteries and other producer responsibility matters through our e-zine

> ERP has been actively involved in the shaping of battery regulations throughout Europe.

> ERP promotes awareness of recovery of waste batteries and educating the public on the practices and benefits of recovering these batteries and not consigning them to landfill.

> ERP Ireland represents its members in a range of fora, liaising with organisations such as the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, IBEC, the Environmental Protection Agency, WEEE Register Society, IBEC and Retail Excellence Ireland, to name a few.

> During 2014, ERP continued to respond to queries from the RPS Group as part of the review of Producer Responsibility Initiatives in Ireland.

3. ERP Ireland Overview (Continued)

Collection and Treatment Operations


4. Collection and Treatment Operations

4.1 Establishment - ERP

When ERP was founded in 2002 it was decided to outsource the collection and treatment operations to a specialist company working under contract to ERP. However, overtime as we developed our own expertise within this specialised reverse logistics field, we now insource most of our activities, including:

> Sourcing sub-suppliers, auditing their activities and purchasing related services.

> Ensuring compliance with all relevant European and national legislation in ERP collection and treatment activities.

> Establishing the optimal processes for collection and treatment of waste batteries..

> Reporting, including cost control and quality.

> Establishing a call-centre to manage calls from collection sites across all those countries where ERP operates.

> Management of relations with local authorities and retailers.

ERP invested heavily in the establishment of a local team based in

Dublin, Ireland to support our activities. ERP Ireland continues to

leverage the specialist skills related to procurement, technical audit,

logistics and transport, treatment, project management and IT from

its central team at ERP HQ in Paris, France.

ERP, through its contractors, provides the full range of waste battery

collection and recycling related services, including:

> Arrange appointments for collection

> Collection and transportation

> Recycling

> Reporting

Through its international operations, ERP has access to strong

know-how in supply chain management and execution.

4.2 Collection Arrangements

ERP services all designated collection facilities in the areas covered

by its operations in Ireland to the extent of its members’ obligations.

We defined and set up the collection network for the collection of

waste batteries from the designated collection facilities.

For these facilities in the ERP areas, we identified the best way to:

> Organise and optimise transport operations from different collection points.

> Identify the storage systems that will be required.

All retailers in ERP areas are provided with a free collection of their

waste batteries, providing that they are registered with ERP or the

local authority. Retailers and other waste battery collection sites

are generally serviced by dedicated battery collection operators

on a “milk-run” collection system. All collection points can call

our Operations Department on a lo-call number, fax or email

(also available to the Civic Amenity Sites (CAS), and they will be

scheduled for a pickup on the next available run.

The collection and treatment process is adapted to the

characteristics of each county, such as the exact number of

collection points and treatment centres, their operations and


organisation. Ideally, incoming waste batteries are segregated into

three main categories:

> Portable batteries

> Automotive batteries

> Industrial batteries

The containers used in any particular Civic Amenity Site are chosen

according to a number of criteria e.g. amount of space available,

the quantity and type of waste batteries expected, the frequency of

collection required, etc. The handling and storage systems used on

the site must ensure the protection of the waste stream.

Batteries are collected from the bring centres/Civic Amenity Sites,

schools and retailers on request or by using a ‘milk run’ system. In

2014, ERP had 2,462 retailers registered with it for collections of

both WEEE and batteries.

4.3 Treatment, Recovery and Recycling Service Providers

ERP uses the services of sub-contractors in carrying out its

responsibilities in respect of treatment. ERP regularly carry out a

tendering process in order to achieve best value for ERP members.

Key elements of the tendering process include:

> Opening the tender process to companies outside the Republic of Ireland

> Allowing bidders to compete separately for the logistics and treatment activities

> Contracting directly with logistics operators and recyclers

Following the tendering process, ERP selected a number of service

providers including EWM/TRDL, The Recycling Village and EMR.

A brief description of each follows.

EWM/TRDL

EWM/TRDL is based in Greenogue Industrial Estate, Rathcoole,

Co Dublin. EWM/TRDL has been in business since 1997 and

operates under collection permits NWCPO-08-01130-02 issued by

Dublin City Council and facility permit WFP-DS-11-0014-04 issued

by South Dublin County Council.

The Recycling Village

The Recycling Village Ltd was established in 2004 to provide a

specialist solution for the recycling of Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs)

from TVs and PC Monitors. The company provides a complete

solution for the recovery of redundant ICT equipment, in particular

CRT and Flat Panel Display (FPD) systems. The company operates

under an Industrial Emissions Licence, W0286-01, granted by the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The CRT and FPD treatment

procedures developed by The Recycling Village Ltd are accredited

to ISO14001 and WEEELABEX. The Recycling Village Ltd is based in

Duleek, Co. Meath.

Recypilas S A

Recypilas is a Spanish company that treats some of the batteries

collected by ERP. It is based in Asúa-Erandio in Northern Spain.

It specialises in recycling and recovery of all types of batteries and

is certified as an authorised operator for both hazardous and non-

hazardous waste (EU2/037/97; EU/037/02-B and EUX/006/08). It is

also certified by the ISO14001 environmental management system

and the ISO9001 quality management system.

Envirobat España

Envirobat, also a Spanish company, treats some of the batteries

collected by ERP. It is based in Azuqueca de Henares, Guadalajara in

Spain. It is an innovative company promoting sustainability through

recycling with low environmental impact and complying with all

associated standards. It is authorised by the Board of Castilla-La

Mancha (NIMA), number 1930000610. It is also certified by the

ISO14001 environmental management system and the ISO9001

quality management system.


4.4 Battery Treatment

There are a number of processes for battery recycling, depending on

the battery type. For example, alkaline or zinc-carbon batteries can

be used as feedstock in steel making.

Nickel Cadmium batteries typically undergo a High-Temperature

Metal Reclamation (HTMR) process wherein the components are

melted and separated into the individual materials. Lithium batteries

are shredded and separated into their component elements

for recycling or re-use. Mercury batteries undergo a controlled

temperature process in order to allow the recovery of the heavy

metals.

4.5 Operational Areas

The counties within which ERP operated in 2014 were Kerry,

Limerick (City and County), Clare, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Cavan,

and Fingal. These counties have a total of 29 Civic Amenity Sites

and over 3500 established collection points, including 900 active

collection points during 2014.

Figure 1: ERP Ireland operational areas for Batteries

4. Collection and Treatment Operations (Continued)

Donegal

Cavan

Monaghan

Louth

MeathLongford

Leitrim

Sligo

Roscommon

Galway

Mayo

Westmeath

Offaly KildareDublin

Fingal

WicklowLaoisClare

Tipperary

KilkennyLimerick

KerryCork

Waterford

Wexford

Carlow

ERP Operational Areas

Battery Recycling in Ireland

Figure 1: ERP Ireland operational areas for Batteries

Battery Statistics for 2014


5.1 Membership 2014

At the end of 2014, ERP had 119 members, 69 producers who were

members of both our WEEE and Waste Battery compliance schemes.

16 producers were members of our WEEE compliance scheme and

34 producers were members of our Waste Batteries compliance

scheme.

5.2 Materials Collected and Treated

ERP Ireland has established over 3500 collection points in our areas

of operation where the householder can deposit waste batteries

for recycling, free-of-charge. These include Local Authority Civic

Amenity Sites, retailers and public open days. ERP collected 148.5

tonnes and treated 124 tonnes of portable waste batteries in 2014.

The portable batteries collected and treated on a monthly basis is

displayed in figure 2.

JAN

- 14

Tonn

es

FEB

- 14

MAR

- 14

APR

- 14

MAY

- 14

JUN

- 14

JU -

14

AUG

- 14

SEP

- 14

OCT

- 14

NOV

- 14

DEC

- 14

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Figure 2: Monthly Portable Battery Collections

Our portable battery collections figure for 2014 represents an

overall increase on 2013’s figures of over 35%.

2011

Tonn

es

2012

2013

2014

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Figure 3: ERP Annual Battery Collections

Since ERP commenced its Waste Battery Compliance Scheme, it has

collected over 600 tonnes of portable batteries.

5. Battery Statistics for 2014


5.3 Collection Rate per Head of Population The target for household portable battery collections as per the

Regulations is 45% of the average of the three previous years

placed on market figures for 2016, and the national target as per

the schemes’ Letters of Approval was 35% for 2014. ERP Ireland

exceeded this target of 35% in 2014 by collecting 148.5 tonnes of

portable batteries. The collections per source are shown in the chart

below:

Figure 4: Battery Collections by Collection Point Type, 2014

Special Event 5%

Schools 4%

Creche 2%

Scouts Campaign 1%

Retailers14%

Civic Amenities33%

Other41%

5.4 Collections and Operations

All waste battery collections are reported to ERP on a monthly basis.

The results are used by ERP for reporting purposes and by the sub-

contractors, who apply the information to planning and developing

their logistics, their equipment needs and the development of their

recycling facilities.

5. Battery Statistics for 2014 (Continued)

Communications - Batteries in 2014


As a permitted compliance scheme, ERP is required to fund awareness campaigns that promote recycling and encourage consumers to make a positive contribution to the environment by recycling their WEEE and batteries. Our strategic approach for all our communication campaigns is to ensure they are integrated, innovative, meaningful and results driven and convey both the WEEE and battery recycling messages.

In 2014, ERP employed a number of communication strategies

to drive behavioural change and targeted a wide demographic in

order to promote the message of responsible recycling under the

following categories: Educational Awareness Campaigns; Recycling in the Community and Social Media.

6.1 Educational Awareness Campaigns

ERP has successfully created, established and managed educational

programmes to preschools, primary and secondary schools and has

promoted WEEE and battery recycling since 2009. The overarching

aim of these campaigns is to put sustainability at the heart of the

educational agenda and teach students about the importance of

WEEE and battery recycling, as well as establishing collection points

in schools. Our education programmes include:

> Preschool - ‘Go Recycle & Win’ in conjunction with Early Childhood Ireland

> Primary - ‘Go Recycle & Win’

> Secondary - Junk Kouture Recycled Fashion Competition

> Third Level - University of Limerick Research

6.1.1 Preschool – Go Recycle & Win

For a second year, ERP partnered with Early Childhood Ireland (ECI)

to assist childcare facilities in conveying the important message of

battery and electrical waste recycling to preschool children (up to 5

years of age). The campaign achieved great support from preschools

in its first year and has gone a long way towards educating a

younger audience to recycle through fun and engaging activities.

The campaign is also part of an on-going commitment from ERP

and Early Childhood Ireland to put recycling and sustainability at the

heart of the preschool educational agenda. Our battery recycling

campaign achieved great support since its first year, with 90% of

schools confirming they had never recycled batteries before.

ERP worked with ECI to develop some early learning tools to

educate and engage young children in the important activity of

recycling WEEE and batteries. The pack included:

> Battery recycling poster (Batteries)

> Educational games (WEEE and Batteries)

> Colouring sheets (WEEE and Batteries)

> FAQ (Batteries)

> Notice for parents (Batteries)

6. Communications - Batteries in 2014

Figure 5: Kincora Kids, Killaloe at the Go Recycle & Win Recycling Party 2014


Figure 6: Go Recycle & Win 2014 Winners Kincora Kids

We also ran a competition - the childcare facility that collected the

most batteries per head at the end of the school year could win an

ERP Recycling Party.

Every facility that participated in the 2013/2014 campaign was

awarded with a recycling certificate for display at their service by

way of recognition of their recycling efforts.

The 2014 winners, Kincora Kids, Killaloe, collected 1.5 tonnes of

batteries or a whopping 15kg per child and a total of 3.1 tonnes

of waste batteries were collected amongst all preschools. 450

collection points have been established since the campaign began.

6.1.2 Primary School - Go Recycle & Win Campaign

The Go Recycle & Win campaign aims to promote battery and

electrical waste recycling to school goers at primary school level.

The campaign is supported by an online educational kit for teachers

to download and a monthly newsletter which is sent to schools

and includes WEEE and battery recycling tips as well as additional

resources to help schools in their recycling efforts.

We also ran a competition element - students were encouraged to

bring old and used batteries into school and place them in battery

recycling boxes. At the end of the school year, the top three primary

schools in each county were rewarded with a KOBO eReader.

Winning schools

Co. Fingal Educate Together, Swords

Scoil Mobhi, Skerries

St. Sylvesters Infant School,

Malahide

Co. Louth St. Finian’s National School,

Dunleer

Dulargy Mixed National School

Ballapousta National School,

Drogheda

Co. Meath Balreask National School

Kells Parochial School

Scoil San Therese, Kilshane

Co. Cavan Milltown National School

Muff National School

St.Brigid’s National School,

Bailieborough

Co. Monaghan Gaelscoil Lorgan, Castleblaney

St. Louis Girls National School

St. Michael’s National School,

Corcaghan

Co. Clare Tomgraney National School

Lisseycasey National School

St.Patrick National School,

O’Callaghan Mills

Co. Kerry Coolard Mixed National School

Scoil Mhuire B & C

Clogher Mixed National School

Co. Limerick Catherine McCauley School

Coolcappa National School

Pallaskenry National School

Overall, the campaign recycled the equivalent of 7.6 tonnes of

batteries during the 2013/2014 school year, up 40% on the

previous year. The top school Coolard Mixed National School, Kerry

collected 700kg of waste batteries.

6. Communications - Batteries in 2014 (Continued)


6.1.3 Secondary School - Junk Kouture Recycled Fashion Show

ERP proudly supported once again the Junk Kouture Recycled

Fashion Competition 2014. Now in its third year, the competition

challenges secondary school students to create an outfit from

everyday waste materials and recycled resources. In line with ERP’s

involvement, each outfit must incorporate an element of WEEE or

batteries. This mandatory feature further highlights the importance

of responsible recycling. The competition is key to driving

behavioural change among second level students and challenges

them to consider waste as a resource.

Figure 7: WEEE Prize Winner ‘Orange Electrique’ at the Grand Final of the Junk Kouture 2014

Key results:

> 2,563 students entered the competition

> 4,000 people attended the regionals in the Helix, Dublin, the Millennium Forum, Derry, the University Concert Hall, Limerick and the Royal Theatre, Castlebar

> 4,000 people attended the grand final held in the 3Arena, Dublin

> Media engagement achieved 486 hits

> ERP Ireland trended on Twitter for our ‘tWEEEts’ competition

> ERP Ireland Facebook page used for Junk Kouture voting grew from 8,000 to 35,000 followers in one week!

Secondary school teams who made it through to the grand final

showcased their creations in the 3Arena, Dublin in May 2014 which

sold out in a matter of days. The winning design ‘Pine-a-Colada’,

made from pinecones, rope and dried pineapples was from Our

Lady’s Bower, Athlone and the victorious team walked away with

over €20,000 worth of prizes for their school.

The message of waste electronic and battery recycling was further

driven home by an attention grabbing display by ERP in the foyer

of the 3Arena. The display showcased a recycled garden made

of WEEE and batteries and the nominees shortlisted for the ERP

WEEE award modelled their creations. “Recircuitable” from Our

Lady’s Bower, Athlone won the European Recycling Platform’s (ERP)

Electrical Waste Award.

ERP Ireland trended on Twitter for our ‘tWEEEts’ competition. At

regular intervals during the show the audience were encouraged to

tweet ERP if they could spot an item of WEEE or batteries on a Junk

Kouture outfit.

6.1.4 Third Level - University of Limerick Research

ERP has secured funding with the University of Limerick and the

Irish Research Council for a three year PhD research project in

conjunction with Dr Colin Fitzpatrick, Department of Electronic

& Computer Engineering of the University of Limerick. The main

deliverables from the project surrounds a resource efficiency

research project for the repurposing of B2C Laptops. The

research project being undertaken by Damian Coughlan is titled

“Repurposing of E-waste as a driver for Resource Efficiency”.


The European Commission has identified resource efficiency and

electronic waste as areas of concern. The current end-of-life

treatments for e-waste are dominated by recycling processes which

are very inefficient in terms of their outcomes for many critical

raw materials due to inappropriate pre-treatment and a lack of

recycling technologies. While reuse is an option that conserves these

materials, reuse is dependent on factors such as market demand

and suitability for purpose. This research is examining repurposing

as an end-of-life strategy for e-waste. This is where a component

is reused for a different function. Repurposing can enhance

recycling outcomes through dismantling; enable functional reuse

of components thus extending a product’s lifetime and leverage

value through product creation to offset costs associated with

dismantling. The results presented will document the evaluation

process for the feasibility study, the economic evaluation of the

dismantling process, the methodology required for evaluation and

potential sources of supply and the application of the above to a

case study of 30 Notebook computers sourced from a B2C waste

stream.

Damian presented his research at the International Symposium on

Sustainability Systems and Technology (ISSST) in Oakland, California,

U.S.A in May of 2014. Damian is currently in his third year of

the PhD Research and has completed disassembly/dismantling

testing on Notebook computers and is currently collecting data

on benchmarking the Repurposed motherboards with Thin Client

computers. Damian will also be completing work on a form factor

to house the repurposed motherboard using the principles of

sustainable design to create a new product that will be easier to

recycle at the end of the second life.

6.2 Recycling in the Community

6.2.1 ERP Recycling Events 2014

In 2014, ERP ran a total number of 66 varying types of free recycling

events including; 25 x (1) location full day recycling event, 18 x (2)

locations in 1 day events, split day over 2 locations within the same

County, 20 x Irish Farm Plastic events and 3 x EPA Farm Hazardous

events.

The ERP Free Recycling Event programme allows the public an

easy and accessible way to divert their electrical and battery waste

from landfill. The free recycling events were organised at accessible

and convenient locations around the country allowing consumers

to drop off their electrical and battery waste for recycling in a

responsible manner. The ERP Free Recycling Event programme

educates and inspires the public on the importance of diverting

WEEE and used batteries from landfill and promotes responsible

recycling.

The locations of Free Recycling Events were selected in areas

without easy access to civic amenity sites, they were co-branded and

supported by our partners at local authorities, community leaders

and retailers. The areas were also clearly marked as a Free Recycling

Events to raise awareness of the activity. During 2014, we promoted

collection of large domestic appliances from households and ERP

provided staff to collect items. We also delivered 18 spilt events,

where we divided the day in (2) smaller towns in Counties to great

success.

The sites were chosen to provide complete ease of use and

convenience to the consumer and were held at the weekend to

further maximise their success. ERP provided fully trained staff at

each of the events to help consumers to unload their WEEE from

their vehicles and to answer the general public’s questions and

queries about recycling.

The events were promoted through multi-channel traditional and

digital marketing channels. Extensive National and local online and

offline PR was achieved for all free recycling events.



Figure 8: Free Recycling Event Programme Results, 2014

Free Recycling Event Programme Results

Number of Events Held (Feb-Nov 2014) 43

Number of cars and persons on foot that attended events

3,450

Number of people exposed to campaign 2014 447,875

Total WEEE collected KG 279,987

Total Portable Batteries Collected 8,430

Average WEEE take back per person (kg) 81

In association with the IFFPG and DECLG, we continued to roll out

the pilot programme targeting farmers only in counties Limerick and

Clare.

The programme promoted the recycling electrical and battery

operated items for free in conjunction with Irish Farm Plastics.

The co-branded advertisement campaign was featured in farming

journals and local papers and aimed to educate and encourage

farmers to recycle electrical and battery operated items at the series

of events.

Figure 9: IFFPG Pilot Results, 2014

IFFPG Pilot Programme, Results 2014

Number of Events Held (Apr-Jun 2014) 20

Number of tractors and persons on foot that attended events

741





In 2014, we launched a new pilot programme led by the EPA (Farm

Hazardous Waste Collection Programme) to provide collection

facility for farmers to bring electrical waste and batteries to farm

hazardous recycling events. Take-back events were piloted in Fingal,

Cavan and Limerick. The successful take back results diverted over

23 tonnes of stored WEEE and over 4 tonnes of batteries.

We await next steps on proposed programme for 2015.

Figure 10: EPA Farm Hazardous Pilot Results, 2014

EPA Farm Hazardous Pilot, Results 2014

Number of Events Held in Nov 2014 3

Number of tractors, cars and persons on foot that attended events

408






6.2.2 Scouting Ireland Recharge the Earth Challenge

Scouting Ireland and ERP teamed up once again to launch the

Recharge the Earth Challenge, an exciting initiative designed to

promote battery recycling and awareness amongst Scout Groups.

Once a group has collected four full boxes (or 100kg) of batteries,

ERP would reward it with a gift of trees. Each bundle of trees is

planted locally so Scouts could ‘Recharge the Earth’ while diverting

waste batteries from landfill.

To support the initiative, ERP created an activity pack to educate

Scout Leaders and their groups about the importance of battery and

WEEE recycling. The activity kit included:

> Slide show and Scout Leader presentation notes

> Quiz on battery and WEEE recycling in Ireland

> Games and colouring sheets on battery and WEEE recycling

> Posters for Cub Scouts and Beaver Scouts

The 2013/2014 campaign was a great success

with 52 groups registered and 6 tonnes of batteries

collected.

6.2.3 Young Social Innovators

Young Social Innovators is a not-for-profit organisation creating

opportunities for young people to be empowered through social

innovation education. The Young Social Innovators of the Year

Awards and Showcase is one of the largest youth events in the

country. ERP took a stand at the event in the Convention Centre

in Citywest which was attended by over 4,500 young people from

all over the country. Our display featured a recycled garden made

of WEEE and batteries and we ran a Facebook competition on the

stand encouraging students to answer questions on WEEE and

battery recycling.

Figure 10: The ERP Eco Egg

6.2.4 The ERP Eco Egg - ERP celebrates a landmark by recycling 2 Million Tonnes of WEEE

The European Recycling Platform started 2014 celebrating

the collection and recycling of over 2 million tonnes of

WEEE since the start of its operations in Europe. The

positive effect of this activity is the equivalent to the

removal of 8 million cars from the road for one year around



Europe and has prevented the emission of 21.7 million tonnes of

C02 through the recovery of raw materials.

To mark this milestone, ERP Ireland presented the ERP Eco Egg

to Fergus O’Dowd, TD Minister for State, on the steps of the

Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government

at the Custom House. The environmental egg featured as part

of the Jack & Jill Big Egg Hunt across Dublin city in 2013. The

Egg’s design incorporated a nest of electrical waste and batteries

highlighting the fine balance between nature and our actions as

consumers.

“I congratulate ERP Ireland and their partners in Europe in reaching this milestone and collecting over 2 million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment throughout Europe to date,”

said Fergus O’Dowd, TD, Minister for State at the Department of the

Environment. “It is appropriate that we recognise the efforts of all those who have made the WEEE system such a success, particularly here in Ireland as this week sees the introduction of new Irish Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment legislation which transposes the requirements of the WEEE Recast Directive.”

“These new Regulations provide us with the road map to further reduce the adverse impact on the environment from the generation of this particular waste stream and chart a path towards an innovative, modern and sustainable approach to the management of WEEE.

I’m confident that the enthusiasm of the Irish consumer together with the commitment of our compliance schemes, local authorities and the retail sector which has seen Ireland among the top EU electrical recyclers, will enable us to meet the even more demanding targets required by the recast Directive and take Ireland onto a new plain of environmental performance in terms of WEEE collection, treatment and re-use in the years to come.”

In the process of recycling ERP has:

> saved 9 billion kWh of primary energy equivalent to power usage in half a million homes, the whole of Luxemburg, for a year.

> collected 26 million TVs, 45 million small domestic appliances, 11.5 million large domestic appliances and 8 million cold electrical appliances.

6.2.5 Chambers Ireland

ERP Ireland has had a long standing relationship with Chambers

Ireland and during 2014 we have worked with them on the

following campaigns:

> Corporate Social Responsibility Awards - Martin Tobin was invited once again to be a judge on the panel of the 2014 Chambers Ireland CSR Awards which recognises the work being carried out by Irish and multinational companies to improve the lives of their employees and to enhance the environment.

> Excellence in Local Government Awards - The Excellence in Local Government Awards showcases best practice in local government and highlights some of the great projects that local authorities are undertaking. ERP Ireland sponsored the Sustainable Environment category. Cavan County Council was the overall winner for its Citizen Engagement Strategy for the Domestic Wastewater Assessments (DWWA).


6.3 Social Media

Although a key channel, it is important to note that all campaigns

that ERP runs are integrated across all channels delivering the

messages of WEEE and battery recycling as appropriate – web, local

and national print, radio as well as social media channels.

Consumer campaigns run throughout 2014 included:

> ERP Ireland Facebook page used for Junk Kouture voting grew from 8,000 to 35,000 followers in one week

> ERP Ireland trended on Twitter for our ‘tWEEEts’ competition

> Facebook used for Young Social Innovators event

> Twitter used for Green Halloween Competition

Financial Information


7. Financial Information

ERP is a not-for-profit company. As a condition of its permit, ERP is

required to hold financial reserves that are the equivalent of at least

six months recycling operations costs. This is to ensure that it will

meet the costs of future recycling. Any income received in excess of

this is held in reserve for re-distribution to the members by way of

reduced fees for waste recycling tonnage. At all times during 2014,

ERP was fully compliant with this requirement.

Outlook for 2015


Battery Permit Renewal

ERP’s Battery Permit is due for renewal in 2015. Our team will spend

a significant part of early 2015 pulling together a comprehensive

submission to the Department that will ensure we are reissued our

permit and demonstrate how we can meet the 45% battery target

in 2016 and beyond.

New Targets

In order to achieve the new waste battery targets, many of the

infrastructural changes and initiatives have been front-end loaded

in our five year plan and will be launched during 2015. These

initiatives will ensure that we reach the 45% target in 2016 and

maintain this momentum thereafter. We have prepared a detailed

tactical operations plan and creative promotional and partnership

programmes designed to reach, influence and educate a wider

national demographic in 2015 and beyond.

Extension of the Operations Team and Network

During 2015, we will increase investment in our operations team to

support the increased uplift in battery recycling and ensure batteries

are collected in a prompt and regular manner. ERP proposes to

expand its collection point network by 20% this year.

We are proud of the achievements of ERP assisting Ireland meet

its waste battery collection targets since 2008 and look forward to

building on this success and working with the Department and all

key stakeholders to achieve the new targets going foward.

8. Outlook for 2015


Our ERP Branches

AUSTRIA

Autokaderstraße 29/BT2/1

1210 Wien

Tel: +43 1 2024925

Fax: +43 1 2024925

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.at

GERMANY

Charlottenburger Allee 41

52068 Aachen

Tel:+49 241 9515 2000

Fax: +49 241 95 18 9999

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.de

POLAND

Żurawia 32/34

00-515 Warszawa

Tel: +48 22 5210615

Fax: +48 22 5210618

[email protected]

www.erppolska.pl

DENMARK

Lindholm Havnevej 31

DK-5800 Nyborg

Tel: +45 6333 0028

Fax: +45 6333 0029

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.dk

IRELAND

2-4 Ely Place

Dublin 2

Tel: +353 (0) 16624040

Fax: +353 (0) 16618316

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.ie

PORTUGAL

C. Emp. Ribeira da Penha

Longa Rua D. Dinis

Bordalo Pinheiro, 467B

2645-539 Alcabideche

Tel: +351 21 9119630

Fax: +351 21 9119639

[email protected]

www.erp-portugal.pt

FINLAND

Pakkalankuja 6

01510 Vantaa

Tel: +358 45 897 0813

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.fi

ITALY

Viale Assunta, 101

20063 Cernusco sul Naviglio (MI)

Tel: +39 02 92147479

Fax: +39 02 92592334

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.it

SPAIN

C/ Raimundo Fernández Villaverde,

30 Planta 1ª, oficina 314

28003 Madrid

Tel: +34 918063042

Fax: +34 918047295

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.es

FRANCE

94 rue St Lazare - Building E - 6th floor

75009 Paris

Tel: +33 (0)1 71323940

Fax : +33 (0)1 71323941

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.fr

NORWAY

Bragernes Torg 4

NO-3017 Drammen

Tel.: +47 400 00 476

Fax: +47 9257 4000

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.no

UK

Barley Mow Centre,

10 Barley Mow Passage, Chiswick

London W4 4PH

Tel: +44 (0) 2031426452

Fax: +44 (0) 8703836420

[email protected]

www.erp-recycling.co.uk

ERP Ireland2-4 Ely PlaceDublin 2

Email: [email protected]: +353 (0)1 662 4040 Fax: +353 (0)1 661 8316

www.erp-recycling.ie

erp annual report for batteries operations 2014

Documents