Go green and recycle for St. Patrick’s Day!

New research shows that 1-in-3 people in Ireland are hoarding up to 10 unused electrical cables in their homes

On 14 March, Landbell Group company, ERP Ireland announced results by Coyne Research which revealed that 1-in-3 adults have between five to 10 unused electrical cables in their homes.

Charging cables are the most common type of unused cables (77%), followed by USB (66%) and HDMI (49%) cables.

Almost half of those surveyed keep these unused cables in a drawer in the home.

The research, commissioned by ERP Ireland, revealed that over half of all adults surveyed were aware of legislation announced by the European Council, Commission and Parliament.

This legislation requires all new smartphones, tablets, cameras and other electronic gadgets marketed in the EU to have a USB-C charging port by the end of 2024.

As this change comes into effect, households will likely have plenty of waste cables in their homes for recycling.

Encouraging people to collect and recycle

To mark St. Patrick’s Day on 17 March, ERP Ireland encouraged people to collect unused cables from their homes and recycle them at their nearest electrical retailer or recycling centre.

To support this message, ERP Ireland was a Sustainability Partner for this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival.

As part of their partnership, the company worked with artist Ned Leddy to create a WEEE-inspired installation entitled ‘Trash Mammoth’ to raise awareness among festival goers about the importance of recycling electrical waste.

Made from over 100 small electrical items and standing at 13 feet tall, the installation was on display at St. Patrick’s Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin on 16 to 17 March.

Sustainability partnership

James Burgess, Country General Manager of ERP Ireland said:

“We are excited to announce our sustainability partnership with St. Patrick’s Festival and align our purpose with the festival’s commitment to an eco-friendly St. Patrick’s celebration.

ERP is encouraging everyone to join us in banishing unused cables from their homes and recycling them at their nearest free electrical recycling drop-off point.

We believe that through such initiatives and partnerships we can collectively make a positive impact on our environment.”

Richard Tierney, CEO of St. Patrick’s Festival said:

“We are delighted to partner with ERP in our shared mission to promote sustainability.

Sustainability is one of our core organisational values, and it’s an area where we feel we can really lead from the front on.

Partnering with organisations like ERP means we can inspire communities to embrace responsible recycling practices and pave the way for a greener future”.

For more information, please visit the ERP Ireland website here.