Recycling Company Fined €60,000 Over Employee Death, Admits Vehicle Safety Failings

Throntons Recycling, located in Dublin, Ireland, has been fined €60,000 following the death of an employee over four years ago.

Throntons Recycling was found to have breached health and safety protocol which resulted in the fine. The company admitted that a waste collection vehicle that collected recycling bins in Dún An Óir estate at Old Bawn, Tallaght was defective and unsafe on March 19, 2020.

Tomasz Orzel was killed after he was struck by the truck while he and a coworker were collecting recycling bins for the vehicle on the morning of March 19.

The vehicle was said to have defects in its footboards (the area where workers stand while the vehicles collect bins) were in bad condition. Additionally, the vehicle had a faulty proximity sensor switch, a safety feature which prevents the vehicle from reversing and traveling at 30km/h while the footboards are in use.

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