Wolf and Oak played an instrumental part in shaping Ireland’s ground-breaking national recycling system

Six months after launching in February 2024, Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) was processing 3.1 million bottles and cans a day, an extraordinary achievement for a complex recycling initiative that was only signed into legislation by the Irish Government in 2021. The greenfield project was not without its challenges, many of them tackled head-on by Irish consultancy firm, Wolf and Oak.

The Challenge

Tasked with developing the DRS was Re-turn, a producer-led organisation set up to deliver a multi-layered project that called for the design, procurement and implementation of a digital platform. The platform would be the enabler for an end-to-end programme, where product producers, retailers and other return point operators could come together and fulfil their role in the scheme.

The DRS incentivises the separate collection of bottles and cans by having people pay a small deposit on each drink they buy, money they get back when they recycle the container. It’s a circular economy initiative that creates a closed loop recycling system, guaranteeing materials are returned and recycled into new drinks containers. Wolf and Oak was chosen to identify and cost the technologies and services needed to run the scheme. The first hurdle was to document a strategy that could underpin the platform and be used to guide Re-turn in relation to timelines, planning and successful implementation.

Jimmy Sheahan, Wolf and Oak CEO, along with his team of experts, including CTO Ciro Vivacqua, embarked on a consultation process with stakeholders, not just the producers and retailers in Ireland, but with organisations across the world that had already gone live with similar schemes. Ireland would be the 15th country to launch a DRS, so there were experienced service providers to engage with. Once the scope was more fully understood, Re-turn and Wolf and Oak set about turning the plan into a reality.

The Solution

The first hurdle was agreeing a timeline. Wolf and Oak worked closely with the Re-turn leadership team and board on what was achievable in such a complex project, eventually arriving at the February 2024 launch date. “A huge amount of work and due diligence had to be done in a very short space of time compared to most projects,” said Sheahan. “It was made harder because it’s a high-profile project with many stakeholders, so it demanded the highest levels of governance and control.”

Having diligently analysed the requirements for the scheme, Wolf and Oak helped prepare a tender with two lots, one for the development of the digital platform and the second for a managed service to support it after launch. The purpose was to ensure there was competitive tension around the project, and that the outcome was an end-to-end solution that could be continually developed and improved.

Sheahan has spent many years working at the coalface of large-scale IT projects, gaining experience that proved pivotal for steering Re-turn through requirements gathering, procurement and delivery management. "Through our expert analysis and global procurement engagement, we concluded that we needed multiple companies to build and run it, because no single provider, including by the way, multinational organisations, could cover off all the requirements of such a complex scheme," he said.

The Results

Ireland’s DRS was launched on time and on budget, with all milestones met and the foundations in place for a scheme that could be continuously improved. Success was achieved by constantly validating the approach, according to Sheahan, ensuring each step taken never wandered far from the original vision.

Re-turn CEO, Ciaran Foley, notes that the project seemed more straightforward at the outset than it was. Wolf and Oak provided a reality when they came onboard. “As it turned out, there just wasn’t the off-the-shelf capability we expected, particularly around the registration process, so we ended up mending the aeroplane while flying,” he said.

Foley credits Wolf and Oak for enabling a safe landing: “Wolf and Oak has done an exceptional job in the end-to-end coordination of a project with so many moving parts. Delivering it on time and on budget was a colossal achievement and can’t be underestimated.”

A risk management framework was introduced at the start of the process by Wolf and Oak, resulting in complete transparency throughout the lifecycle of the project, from procurement to execution. “We enabled transparency from day one, and totally focused on relaying information to stakeholders,” said Sheahan. “We were very clear on the level of certainty we needed to achieve for each phase of work.”

Possible pitfalls were identified early and corrections made. As with every project, some problems tool longer than others to fix. The registration platform, where producers and retailers sign up for the scheme, was particularly challenging. Because of some initial confusion about the best process for onboarding, it was one of the last pieces to be finished, but Sheahan and Re-turn CIO, Alan Pearson, worked together to get it across the line.

“Together they kept the risk register live, they kept the forums live, and meetings and workshops happened on time. Once they had a good feel for the timeline and what they had to do, they delivered under extremely challenging circumstances,” said Foley.

Wolf and Oak continue to work with Re-turn, providing advisory, data and resourcing services, filling skills gaps to ensure continuity of the scheme. “If I was running a DRS anywhere else in the world, the first people I would speak to would be Wolf and Oak,” said Foley. “Without them, we wouldn't have gone live on time.”