Vishal Sharma and Purvi Tiwari, both of The Avenue, Foggy Field, Bray, appeared at Bray District Court on a summons brought by Wicklow County Council.

The offence was brought under Section 38 of the Waste Management Act. Mr Sharma pleaded guilty to disposing of waste in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution.

The court was told that the charges against Ms Tiwari would be struck out if her husband entered a guilty plea.

Solicitor for the couple, Joe Maguire, told the court that he expected it to adopt a particular attitude in light of his client’s cooperation.

A representative for Wicklow County Council (WCC) said that on January 21, 2025, Mr Sharma left a skip bag full of waste outside Bray Recycling Centre on the Boghall Road. Photographs were handed into court showing the contents of the bag, which included carpet and wood from renovations being carried out at the couple’s home.

The court was informed that a WCC environmental officer searched the bag and found material that led to the identification of the couple.

It was noted that most of the debris in the bag was recyclable and that Mr Sharma had been “extremely cooperative”.

The court was told that the maximum penalty for the offence was a fine of €5,000.

Mr Maguire said his client had gone to the recycling centre but found it closed due to Storm Éowyn, which caused significant damage and led to the closure of many local authority facilities.

It was clarified that this was not a case of fly-tipping and that Mr Sharma had taken responsibility for the matter and gave a statement to gardaí.

The court heard that Mr Sharma is married, is a mortgage holder, and works as a project manager in Dublin, earning €4,000 per month.

Mr Maguire asked the court to leave his client without a conviction if he donated €500 to the court poor box and paid WCC’s costs, which totalled €400.

“He didn’t dump it willy-nilly,” Mr Maguire said.

Judge Ramsey agreed and directed that €500 be paid to the court poor box. The matter was adjourned to February 2 for proof of payment.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme