Local help in Malahide, Howth, Clontarf & Castleknock

Recycling centres: check before you load the car

When we checked on 24 October 2026, Fingal County Council's recycling centres, Estuary in Swords and Coolmine in Dublin 15, were closed because of industrial action, "until further notice". Look at fingal.ie before you go.

Clontarf households are in Dublin City, whose North Strand Recycling Centre on Shamrock Terrace takes bulky items and garden waste for a charge, from households only. Full large or commercial vans are not accepted.

With the Fingal sites shut, paying someone to take garden waste or a garage clear-out away is the obvious alternative. Anyone collecting waste for money, including a gardener or a man with a van doing a clear-out, needs a waste collection permit from the National Waste Collection Permit Office (Waste Management Act 1996, section 34). Handing your waste to someone without one is an offence for you, not just for them. Ask for the permit number and check it on nwcpo.ie before anything goes in the van. The NWCPO search has filters for garden waste and garage clear-outs by county.

Howth: a Special Amenity Area

Large parts of Howth, together with Ireland's Eye, are covered by the Howth Special Amenity Area Order: 547 hectares, made by Fingal in 1999 and confirmed in 2000. If your job means building or changing anything outdoors, from a garden structure to a new boundary wall, ask Fingal's planning department first and mention the answer in your job post.

Along the coast road in Clontarf and around Howth and Malahide, salt air is hard on outside paint, railings and garden furniture. Ask painters what preparation they will do, not only what the job costs.

Dog walking: Bull Island and the Phoenix Park

North Bull Island, off Clontarf, is a nature reserve managed by Dublin City Council. Castleknock borders the Phoenix Park, which the OPW runs, with its own regulations for dogs and a herd of wild deer. If you book a walker, agree where they will go and that they follow that place's rules, and keep it in the DoneIt chat.

Skips

In Clontarf, a skip on a public road needs a Dublin City Council permit where parking is restricted (double yellow lines, paid parking, a clearway), with at least 7 working days' notice. On an unrestricted road no permit is needed if the skip is placed safely and 3 metres of road stays clear. In Malahide, Howth and Castleknock, ask the skip company what Fingal requires.