Thorntons Recycling fined €60k after employee killed by reversing bin lorry

A Dublin waste disposal company has been fined €60,000 after an employee was fatally struck by a reversing bin lorry while collecting domestic refuse.

At the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Judge Martin Nolan today imposed a fine of €60,000 on Padraig Thornton Waste Disposal Ltd (T/A Thorntons Recycling) following the fatal work-related incident at Dún An Óir Estate, Old Bawn, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on 19th March 2020.

The company admitted that it “failed to manage and conduct work activities, specifically the operation of a refuse collection vehicle for the collection of refuse wheelie bins by employees in relation to a place of work under its control”.

Thorntons Recycling also pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that its bin lorry “was maintained in such a way as to reduce risks to the users of the work equipment and to other persons at work”.

Mark Cullen, assistant chief executive of the HSA commented on the incident: “The circumstances of this accident, which resulted in an employee receiving fatal injuries, should be a warning to all employers to make sure that they carry out risk assessments in advance of the work activities commencing, in order to ensure appropriate control measures are identified and put in place to prevent fatal and serious injuries.”