Recycling in the Republic of Ireland

[2] This figure remains above the European Union annual municipal waste average of 503 kg per person, however.

One noticeable success in Ireland's environmental track record was the introduction of a plastic bag levy in 2002,[3] the first country in the world to do so.

Media coverage also helped raise awareness about the damage plastic bags do to the environment.

To address this, the levy was increased in July 2006 to 22c;[4] preliminary figures indicate the rate has again fallen to 21 bags per capita.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive was introduced into Irish law in August 2005.

Repak charges fees to its members in accordance with the amount and type of packaging they place on the Irish market.

Repak is approved under licence by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to operate as a compliance scheme for packaging recovery.

Waste collection services have been increasingly run by private companies, rather than local government, over the last decade.

Dublin City Council began to charge for waste collection to fund improvements in recycling facilities.

Nine Bring Centres, which consist of bottle banks and recycling facilities were made available at various locations around the City in 2001.

This system is designed to discourage people from using the black bin and therefore to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.