UK Group Touts Initiative to Improve Safety at Recycling Plants

The Health and Safety Executive has launched a three-year initiative with the waste and recycling industry to address the high number of fatal and serious incidents that occur during collection and processing of municipal waste and recycling activities.

Britain's Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive are responsible for the regulation of almost all the risks to health and safety arising from work activity in Britain.

Part of the initiative involves visits to private companies and half of all Local Authorities that either manage their own, or contract out services. Inspectors are assessing the management of health and safety, concentrating specifically on the design, specification and management of contracts, workplace transport, manual handling and employee welfare.

At initial visits, inspectors are looking at policies and control measures in place and how these are managed, and will follow up one year later to check that employers required to produce an action plan of improvements have carried these out.

The initiative is supplemented by a rolling program of advisory seminars to local authorities assisting in contract design and the management of contracts/contractors. The newly launched HSE waste/recycling web page www.hse.gov.uk/waste/index.htm guides the industry to current sources of guidance and best practice.

A checklist setting out the framework for effective planning, organizing, controlling, and monitoring of activities, including a review of protective and preventive measures needed to ensure the health and safety of employees and others, is available from the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/waste/checklist.doc.

Further information on health and safety in the waste/recycling industry including statistical information can be found on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/waste/index.htm