Columbus, Ohio, recycler agrees to clean up properties

A Columbus, Ohio, recycler has agreed to clean up the recycling facility properties that were destroyed by a huge blaze in May 2015.

According to an article in the Columbus Dispatch, owner Ebrahim Hooshiarnejad will clean up the South Side recycling properties and will maintain their safety.

Franklin County Environmental Judge Daniel Hawkins signed orders May 5 requiring Hooshiarnejad to follow city codes at his properties at 611 Marion Road, the site of the May 1, 2015 fire; 521 and 659 Marion Road; 521 Innis Ave.; 1889-1891 Federal Parkway on the city's South Side; and 2040 Hamilton Road on the East Side, according to the article.

By June 1, 2016, the Dispatch reports materials cannot be stacked taller than 8 feet at the Hamilton Road, 521 Marion Road and the Innis Avenue and Federal Parkway sites. By Aug. 1, there can be no more than four adjacent piles and at least 8 feet between each pile. By Oct. 1, the stacks cannot be taller than 6 feet.

The stack limitations are aimed at preventing another towering blaze like the one that engulfed the 13-acre Marion Road site and caused $8 million in damage, according to the article. Three businesses recycled paper, plastic and wood pallets at that location. The fire was started by a Phoenix Recycling worker’s discarded cigarette.

Hooshiarnejad also must have all waste and debris removed from the 611 Marion Road site by June 1, the article states.

Assistant City Attorney Steve Dunbar said although Hooshiarnejad has been cooperative, it’s taken a while to finally get these orders, according to the Dispatch.

“The pace has not occurred as quickly as we’d like to see,” he said.

Dunbar said materials can be moved from the warehouses to the 611 Marion Road site for the short term. Hooshiarnejad also must submit a revised zoning application for that site and a permit application to repair the remaining building. Seven of the eight buildings there have been razed, the article confirms.