The High Court appointed a liquidator to Limerick Waste on foot of a petition by another Limerick firm, Mr Binman.

Mr Binman petitioned the court over a �?�500,000 debt resulting from a legal action taken against Limerick Waste over unpaid bills. Limerick Waste had been using Mr Binman's waste management facility and had run up substantial debts which it was unable to pay.

The company was subsequently unable to discharge the �?�250,000 court judgement and associated legal costs, understood to be in the region of �?�250,000.

Among Limerick Waste's unsecured creditors are several hundred customers who paid in advance to have their refuse collected prior to the company's collapse. The Mayor of Limerick Diarmuid Scully said he had been contacted by many people who had paid money to the company in the days before it went into liquidation.

It is understood the company's liquidator, Pat Roche of PriceWaterhouse Coopers is in discussions with a number of parties interested in buying Limerick Waste's equipment and other assets. However, he declined to comment when contacted last week.

Industry sources said the most likely purchasers would be the two main local waste management companies, Mr Binman and Clean Ireland.