Sources & Methodology
The Six-Tier Source Hierarchy Behind Every Page
recyclingcentreireland.org/ content is drawn from a strict hierarchy of authoritative Irish sources. This page documents the local authorities, EPR scheme operators, national regulators, EU framework, and public-information channels that we rely on — and the sources we deliberately avoid.
What’s on this page
- The hierarchy at a glance
- Tier 1 — Councils & scheme operators
- Tier 2 — National regulators
- Tier 3 — Irish primary law
- Tier 4 — EU framework
- Tier 5 — Public information
- Tier 6 — Press & research
- All 31 local authorities
- Irish laws table
- EU laws table
- Sources we avoid
- Verification workflow
- Source-driven corrections
1. The Hierarchy at a Glance
Every page on recyclingcentreireland.org/ is built from sources at the highest possible tier. Where Tier 1 (the local authority itself or the licensed scheme operator) is available, we use it. Where Tier 1 doesn't publish what's needed, we work down. We never invert the hierarchy.
| Tier | What it is | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The 31 local authorities; the licensed scheme operators (Re-turn, Repak, WEEE Ireland, ERP Ireland, ELVES, IFFPG) | CA-site URLs and Eircodes, opening hours, accepted-materials lists, charges, return-point finders |
| 2 | National regulators: DECC, EPA Ireland, NWCPO, LGMA | Statutory framework, waste licences, collection permits, EPR designation regulations, national waste policy |
| 3 | Irish primary and secondary law — Waste Management Act 1996, Litter Pollution Act 1997, Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, Deposit Return Scheme Regulations | Statutory authority for the household-waste system |
| 4 | EU framework — Waste Framework Directive, Packaging Directive, WEEE Directive, Battery Regulation, SUP Directive | EU-level rules driving Irish transposition |
| 5 | Public information — mywaste.ie, Recycling List Ireland, Citizens Information | Plain-English explanations of household rules and rights |
| 6 | Reputable Irish environmental press; trade publications; peer-reviewed research | Background context only — never the sole source for a current portal URL or schedule |
2. Tier 1 — Local Authorities and Licensed Scheme Operators
| Source | Role | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Re-turn (Deposit Return Scheme) | Sole licensed operator of Ireland’s DRS since 1 February 2024 — €0.15 / €0.25 deposits on PET bottles and aluminium/steel cans bearing the Re-turn logo | re-turn.ie |
| Repak | Government-approved packaging-compliance scheme — Ireland’s only approved body under the European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 | repak.ie |
| WEEE Ireland | Largest WEEE and battery compliance scheme — covers free in-store take-back and CA-site collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment | weeeireland.ie |
| ERP Ireland | Alternative WEEE and battery compliance scheme | erp-recycling.org/ie-en |
| ELVES — End-of-Life Vehicles Environmental Services | End-of-life vehicle compliance scheme — operates the network of Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) | elves.ie |
| Repak ELT (End-of-Life Tyres) | Tyre compliance scheme — funded through the visible Environmental Management Charge at point of sale | repak.ie |
| IFFPG — Irish Farm Film Producers Group | Farm-plastics compliance scheme — silage wrap, sheeting, and other farm plastics | farmplastics.ie |
| The 31 local authorities | Operate civic amenity sites and bring banks; regulate kerbside collection; investigate illegal dumping | Each council’s official .ie domain — see Section 8 |
Verified URLs only — no Google-search fallbacks
Every Tier 1 URL on this site is checked manually against the live council or scheme-operator portal before publication and re-verified on a quarterly cycle. We do not insert “Google search for [council name]” URLs as fallbacks. If we cannot verify a working URL, the page either omits the link or is held until verification is complete.
3. Tier 2 — National Regulators and Policy Bodies
| Body | Role | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) | National waste and circular-economy policy | gov.ie/en/organisation/decc |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Ireland) | Environmental regulation, waste licensing, National Waste Database, the National Environmental Complaints Line (Lo-call 1850 365 121) | epa.ie |
| National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) | National register of waste-collection permits — operated by Offaly County Council on behalf of all local authorities | nwcpo.ie |
| Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) | Co-ordination of the 31 local authorities; shared services for councils | lgma.ie |
| Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage | Local government policy and statutory framework | gov.ie/en/organisation/dhlgh |
4. Tier 3 — Irish Primary and Secondary Law
| Statute / Instrument | What it does |
|---|---|
| Waste Management Act 1996 | Primary Irish waste-management statute; basis for waste-collection permits, waste licences, and producer responsibility |
| Litter Pollution Act 1997 | Litter offences, on-the-spot fines, litter-warden powers, summary and indictable offences |
| Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 | Statutory footing for the Circular Economy Strategy; new powers on data, levies, and producer responsibility |
| European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 282/2014) | Packaging EPR — designates Repak as the approved compliance scheme |
| European Union (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2014 | WEEE EPR — designates WEEE Ireland and ERP Ireland |
| European Union (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2014 | Battery EPR — designates WEEE Ireland and ERP Ireland for battery take-back |
| End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations | ELV EPR — designates ELVES as the compliance scheme |
| Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 400/2017) | Tyre EPR — designates Repak ELT |
| S.I. No. 33/2024 — Deposit Return Scheme Regulations | The legal framework for Re-turn — operative from 1 February 2024 |
| Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations | Farm-plastics EPR — designates IFFPG |
5. Tier 4 — EU Framework
| Instrument | What it does |
|---|---|
| Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851) | The EU framework for waste management — defines the waste hierarchy and establishes EPR principles |
| Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC (as amended) | EU framework for packaging recycling targets and EPR |
| WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU | EU framework for waste electrical and electronic equipment |
| Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 | New EU framework for batteries — replacing the 2006 Directive |
| Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904 | EU rules on single-use plastics — including the 3 July 2024 attached-cap rule for plastic drinks containers up to 3 litres |
| Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC (as amended) | EU rules on landfill — including diversion targets that drive the brown-bin organics rollout |
| End-of-Life Vehicles Directive 2000/53/EC | EU framework for ELV recycling and recovery |
| Circular Economy Action Plan | EU policy framework underpinning the EPR initiatives |
6. Tier 5 — Public Information Channels
| Channel | Role | URL |
|---|---|---|
| mywaste.ie | The government-supported public information service on what goes where in Ireland — operated by the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices | mywaste.ie |
| Recycling List Ireland | The national accepted-materials list for kerbside green-bin recycling — operated by Repak with the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices | recyclinglistireland.ie |
| Citizens Information | Plain-English overview of waste regulations, deposit return, and household rights | citizensinformation.ie |
| Reuse Network Ireland | Network of community-reuse organisations — for items that still have life | reuse.ie |
7. Tier 6 — Reputable Irish Press and Research
- RTÉ News and RTÉ Investigates — environmental and waste-management coverage
- The Irish Times — environment desk and Pricewatch consumer column
- The Journal.ie — waste and recycling stories
- The Examiner — regional CA site and recycling coverage
- Trade publications — Recycling Magazine, Waste Management World, environmental-engineering journals
- Peer-reviewed research — used for background only, never as the sole source for a current portal URL or schedule
8. The 31 Local Authorities
Every council in Ireland operates under the same statutory waste-management framework but runs its own civic amenity sites, bring-bank network, and information portal. Our coverage is council-by-council:
| Type | Local authorities |
|---|---|
| Cities (3) | Dublin City, Cork City, Galway City |
| City & County (2) | Limerick City & County, Waterford City & County |
| Dublin region county councils (3) | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin |
| Other county councils (23) | Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork (county), Donegal, Galway (county), Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow |
9. Irish Laws — Quick-Reference Table
| Statute | Citation |
|---|---|
| Waste Management Act 1996 | No. 10 of 1996 |
| Litter Pollution Act 1997 | No. 12 of 1997 |
| Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 | No. 26 of 2022 |
| European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 | S.I. No. 282/2014 |
| European Union (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2014 | S.I. No. 149/2014 |
| Deposit Return Scheme Regulations | S.I. No. 33/2024 |
| ePrivacy Regulations | S.I. No. 336/2011 |
| Data Protection Act 2018 | No. 7 of 2018 |
| Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 | No. 28 of 2000 |
| Defamation Act 2009 | No. 31 of 2009 |
| Consumer Protection Act 2007 | No. 19 of 2007 |
| Consumer Rights Act 2022 | No. 37 of 2022 |
10. EU Laws — Quick-Reference Table
| Instrument | Citation |
|---|---|
| Waste Framework Directive | Directive 2008/98/EC |
| Packaging Directive | Directive 94/62/EC |
| WEEE Directive | Directive 2012/19/EU |
| Batteries Regulation | Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 |
| Single-Use Plastics Directive | Directive (EU) 2019/904 |
| End-of-Life Vehicles Directive | Directive 2000/53/EC |
| Landfill Directive | Directive 1999/31/EC |
| General Data Protection Regulation | Regulation (EU) 2016/679 |
| e-Commerce Directive | Directive 2000/31/EC |
| Digital Services Act | Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 |
| EU Copyright Directive | Directive (EU) 2019/790 |
11. Sources We Deliberately Avoid
- Aggregator sites without primary-source attribution. If we cannot trace a CA-site address or accepted-materials list back to a council page, we don’t publish it.
- Anonymous tips and crowdsourced submissions. recyclingcentreireland.org/ content is editorial — built from authoritative council and scheme-operator portals — not user uploads.
- Scraped data of unknown provenance. Even where a third-party dataset is technically available, we go to the originating Tier 1 portal.
- Outdated council pages. When a council redesigns its waste portal, we update — quickly. The old URL doesn’t survive the migration on our pages.
- Marketing material from waste-collection companies as a substitute for council guidance. Permit-holder marketing is not the official source of accepted-materials lists — only the council’s published guidance is.
12. The Verification Workflow
Every page is built through the same workflow:
- Identify the relevant local authority
- Locate the council’s official waste / environment page
- Click through to the live page and confirm it loads, shows current information, and matches what we describe
- Capture the CA-site address and verify the Eircode against An Post’s Eircode Finder
- Document opening hours, accepted-materials list, charges, and any seasonal variations from the council’s own page
- Cross-reference Re-turn, WEEE Ireland, ERP Ireland, Repak, ELVES, and IFFPG references against each operator’s own page
- Cross-reference Tier 3 Irish primary law and Tier 4 EU instruments where the page describes the legal framework
- Editor sign-off — a second editor reviews the page end-to-end before publication
- Quarterly re-verification — every external link is tested and every council interface is checked against our description
13. Source-Driven Corrections
If you spot a source error — a URL that no longer reaches the council or scheme-operator page, an Eircode that no longer maps, an Irish or EU citation that’s been amended — please tell us. Source corrections are our highest-priority queue. Email info@recyclingcentreireland.org with subject “Source correction” and include the page URL, the statement you believe is wrong, and the authoritative source supporting the correction.
Source-First, Always
The local authority that operates the CA site is the source of truth. The licensed scheme operator is the source for EPR matters. Irish primary law and EU instruments are the framework. Everything else is context.
📋 Editorial Policy 📧 Source correction