Recycling Used Batteries

Did you know that last year UCD became the first University in Ireland to have campus wide battery recycling facilities?

To promote and drive the awareness and use of these facilities forward as part of our 2024 Green Week programme, we will be distributing battery recycling boxes to every School Office on campus via internal mail. School Offices will start to receive their boxes from Monday 4^th March.

We can all play our part in the safe and proper recycling of waste batteries; five small boxes will be sent to each School where they can be used within the school to collect used batteries. These boxes should be used to collect used batteries from small devices (e.g AAA, AA, button and 9v batteries).

There are larger drop off boxes serviced by WEEE Ireland located throughout campus. A map of these locations can be viewed (opens in a new window)here The small boxes can be taken down and emptied into the larger boxes for collection by WEEE Ireland.

For larger batteries and for small devices with integrated batteries, these can be recycled on campus at Ashfield Student Residences, next to the Blow Salon where the large unit pictured below can be used:

Small boxes can also be collected from the UCD Village Reception desk for use at home and WEEE Ireland have developed a website detailing the battery recycling drop off points across Ireland (opens in a new window)here

To learn more about the types of metals and harmful materials, including mercury, lead and cobalt that can be recycled as part of this initiative and thus diverted from other waste streams click (opens in a new window)here