If you work in waste and recycling in the UK, you might not be reassured to hear it has a work fatality rate nine times the national average. And you might be even more alarmed when you hear some privatisation-happy local authorities are clueless when it comes to their legal responsibility to keep you safe.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK government’s workplace health and safety watchdog, says it has “identified that a contributing factor may be that some local authorities are unclear what their legal duties are and mistakenly believe that putting a service out to contract relieves them of all health and safety responsibilities.”
HSE says it hopes new online guidance will help local authorities understand the importance of a sensible approach to health and safety when it comes to procuring and managing waste and recycling services, in a bid to help reduce death and injury. According to HSE figures, the recycling industry has nine times more fatalities than the national average and four times as many workers suffer injuries.
HSE chair Judith Hackitt said: “The guidance will help local authorities understand the full extent of their role when managing waste and recycling contractors. HSE wants to see occupational health and safety become an integral but common sense part of the specification, procurement and management of waste and recycling contracts.”
HSE research has also found workers in the waste and recycling sector have higher sickness rates.
One Comment
If you wat to commit the perfect murder first employ your victim
That statement is never more true than in the waste recycling industry, that has more than its’ fair share of ‘dodgy’ employers
In my son’s case it would appear that 2 international companies were illegally disposing of hazardous waste, my son’s employer gladly processing it for a nice cash earner, the consequences of which could have been monumental, the only reason there was only 1 fatality,my son, was because he was the only one present when the explosion occurred.HIs employer ignored every H&S regulation, every fire regulation in the book,saying his employees were all illiterate so he didn’t see the point in issuing written risk assessments
What has happened to that employer ? It has taken 5 years to bring a manslaughter charge against the manager but no corporate manslaughter,no section 37 charges,only HSE section 2 &3 charges against the company which will be heard almost 6 years after the event and a paltry fine imposed,probably go in to liquidation as the director has 5 other companies.
The clear message sent out is that this is the industry to be in if you have no scruples at all about treating employees as human waste and disposing of them as you see fit,the HSE will ask you nicely not to kill anyone but won’t do anything much if you do
Absolute Farce