Limerick City and County Council has welcomed a decision by the District Court against a metal recycling company for breaches of waste management legislation.
United Metal Recycling (Ireland) Limited have been operating a waste permitted facility at Eastway Business Park, Ballysimon Road, Limerick since October 2010.
A fire occurred at the facility in the early hours of 04 August 2021, which the court heard was the second fire at the facility in three years, as another fire occurred in August 2018.
The company pleaded guilty to the summons under Section 39 of the Waste Management Act 1996, for breaches to conditions of their waste facility permit.
The breaches were in relation to operating outside the hours specified in their permit and for not having adequate fire extinguishers and emergency response equipment maintained on-site.
The company did not receive a conviction but were ordered to pay Limerick City and County Council’s costs of €1,429.15 and a €10,000 charitable contribution to the Red Cross Ukrainian Appeal.
The maximum fine for this offence that can be awarded in the District Court is €5,000.
Speaking after the case, a spokesperson for the Council said: “We welcome the decision of the court. By bringing this case, it shows Limerick City and County Council’s commitment to investigate all incidents that occur and to bring those to court if the evidence allows.”
