Waste Management Plan and Regulations

Waste Management Plan

Longford County Council is part of the Eastern Midlands Waste Region (EMWR), along with Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Dublin City, South Dublin, Fingal, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Wicklow, Louth, Kildare and Meath. The EMWR's Eastern Midlands Region Waste Management Plan provides framework for the prevention and management of waste in a sustainable manner.

Further information can be found on EMWR.ie.

Waste Management Byelaws

Waste Management (Segregation, Storage and Presentation of Household and Commercial Waste) Byelaws 2018 regulate how domestic and commercial waste is managed in County Longford in order to help keep the county clean. These byelaws were adopted by Longford County Council on 6 March 2019 and are in accordance with Section 35(1) of the Waste Management Act 1996, Section 199(1) and Part 19 of the Local Government Act 2021.

Burning of Waste 

The Waste Management (Prohibition of Waste Disposal by Burning) Regulations 2009 prohibits the burning of waste within the cartilage of a dwelling. The burning of waste is illegal. This includes the burning of waste in:

  • A barrel or exposed heap in a yard or garden
  • A purchased ready-made home incinerator
  • Burning commercial waste on a business premises or farmyard
  • Burning waste on a building site      

Burning waste can release many harmful chemicals into the air which are a hazard for peoples’ health and the environment.

Failure to comply with these regulations is an offence and fines of up to €3,000 may be imposed.

If you see someone illegally burning waste, report the incident by using our Environmental Complaints Form.

Packaging

Under the European Union Packaging Regulations 2014, all producers must not supply packaging unless it complies with 'essential requirements' to reduce the environmental impact and avoid over-packaging:

  • Packaging weight and volume should be minimised to the amount needed for safety, hygiene and acceptance of the packed product
  • Packaging must be recoverable and be suitable for recycling, energy recovery, composting, or reuse
  • Levels of specified noxious materials must not exceed 100 parts per million and should have minimum impact on the environment at end of life after recycling or energy recovery

Refer to the Fourth Schedule of the Regulations for more information on the essential requirements.

Plastic Bag Levy

Under the Plastic Bag (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations (S.I. No. 167 of 2007), retailers who supply plastic bags to customers must charge a levy to customers at the point of sale. Currently the levy is 22 cent per shopping bag. Retailers then pay this levy to Revenue. 

The levy applies on all plastic bags except plastic shopping bags designed for re-use provided the retailer charges at least 70 cent for the bag.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment 

Under the Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005 all County Longford WEEE retailers or distributors need to register with Longford County Council. 

Waste Batteries

The European Union (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2014 promote the recycling of waste batteries. Waste batteries should never go in general waste or recycling bins.  All waste batteries must be collected and recycled at retail outlets that sell batteries or local authority recycling facilities. This is a free service. No purchase is required in order to return waste batteries.

There are 3 types of batteries that are covered under these regulations:

  • Portable batteries (including those found in blister packs used in toys, mobile phones, remote controls, watches)
  • Industrial batteries (including those used in forklift trucks, electric pallet trucks, electric vehicles and golf buggies)
  • Automotive batteries (ignition batteries in cars, vans, trucks and boats).

Manufacturer, producer, importer and seller of batteries (including those incorporated into equipment, vehicles and other products) in Ireland must comply with the European Union (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2014. Those opting to self-comply with the regulations are required to submit annual reports and three yearly plans to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Waste Tyres

Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2007 promote the environmentally sound management of waste tyres. They provide a regulatory framework for comparing quantities of waste tyres arising, with the quantities placed on the market and in tracking the movement of waste tyres from the time they are discarded until they are either reused or processed for recycling and/or recovery

    The new regulations for the tyre sector introduced a full compliance scheme operated by Repak ELT, with a registration and reporting role for the Producer Register Limited (PRL). 

    In accordance with the Regulations, a person who supplies tyres (or waste tyres) for the purpose of trade or otherwise in the course of business to other persons, whether as manufacturer, wholesaler, supplier, trader, or retailer are legally obliged to join the collective compliance scheme operated by the approved body, Circol ELT.

    The scheme is based on the Producer Responsibility Model that has worked successfully in this country for other waste streams, such as packaging, batteries and waste electrical and electronic goods (WEEE). 

    Further information is also available at ProducerRegister.ie.

    The Environmental Protection Agency also have a Smart Garage Guide outlining good environmental practice in garages and information on how to comply with legislation relating to garage and vehicle servicing operations.

    Farm Plastic Waste

    The Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations, 2001 impose obligations on producers and suppliers of certain farm plastics to operate a deposit and refund scheme, to collect waste farm plastics, to takes steps for the recovery of such waste, to register with and provide information to local authorities and to provide information to purchaser.

    An exemption from these obligations is available to persons who participate in a waste recovery scheme operated by an approved body.

    Irish Farm Film Producers Group is Ireland’s only approved farm plastics recycling compliance scheme.

    Further information

    Further information on waste management regulations can be found on our Waste and Recycling page.

    Disclaimer

    The above information is intended to facilitate your understanding of the main provisions of the regulations and should not be taken as a legal interpretation.