The 28-year-old man was trying to remove tape that had become wrapped around the external chain drive of a sorting machine at the firms materials recycling facility (MRF) in Victory Road, Victoria Park, Trafalgar Way, when the incident happened on 4 February 2013.
Derby Magistrates Court heard yesterday (April 3) that the glove the man was wearing became entangled on the moving chains which severed the tips of his little and ring fingers on his right hand.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) a subsequent investigation found that the machine had been fitted with the external chain drive following a breakdown and brought back into use without it being adequately guarded.
After it was fitted, HSE said, the machine got blocked more often and workers had not received adequate training in the safe isolation of the drive.
As a result, Biffa Waste Services Ltd, of Coronation Road, Cressex, High Wycombe, was fined a total of 20,000 and ordered to pay costs of 1,542 after admitting two counts of breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Edward Walker said: The company was fully aware of the requirement for the chains to be guarded and had made arrangements for guards to be added later that week, yet still allowed the machine to be used before that happened. As a result, a man suffered a painful injury that could have been prevented.
Safer driving campaign
In more positive news, Biffa today (April 4) announced a new awareness campaign in the Wirral aimed at cutting dangerous driving around its collection vehicles and crews.
The campaign will see its 200 staff which collect recycling and refuse on behalf of Wirral council wearing new high-visibility yellow vests overprinted with the slogan: Cars stay off pavements. We are only doing our job.
In addition, Biffa collection vehicles will also sport two new slogans: The safety of our staff is important: you will be reported to police if you put them in danger and; Please drive carefully around our vehicle.
According to the waste management firm, the most prevalent danger to its workers is cars being driven onto pavements to get around vehicles, as its collection crews are often on pavements taking bins to and from properties.
In 2013, Biffas municipal division which services nearly 40 local authorities in the UK recorded more than 700 incidents of cars driving on pavements. And, a number of Biffa staff were struck by vehicles, resulting in some serious injuries, with Biffas managers concerned that someone could be killed.
Biffa business manager Gary Robinson said there were 13 reported incidents of cars being driven on Wirral pavements to get around collection crews in the past year, with three drivers reported to the police.
He said: One such incident involved a manager from Wirral council who was participating in a back to the floor day on one of our collection vehicles. A car mounted the pavement and nearly ran him over. We didnt hesitate to report that to the police.
In February, a Biffa loader was struck on the arm by a car driven on a pavement but fortunately did not need hospital treatment.
Mr Robinson added: Every near-miss, as we call them, is a brush with death. Its really not acceptable for impatient drivers to drive recklessly around our vehicles and crews. My teams are only doing the job that residents want them to do, and its tough enough without having to worry about bad driving.
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