A local authority in Wales has warned thatefforts by the Welsh Government to get local authorities to prefer kerbside sort collections rather than commingling could put councils at risk of breachinghealth and safety laws.
The authority, Denbighshire county council,is now calling for Defra and the WelshGovernment to ensure that health and safety is considered in guidance on commingling of materials which will be published in the wake of the recent Judicial Review over collection systems.
Denbighshireconsiders that councils have not been properly advised to take health and safety into consideration when choosing which recycling collection method they should employ.
Welsh preference
And, in response to the Welsh Governments stated preference that councils should employ kerbside sort collections, Denbighshire argues that as the duty holder under EU health and safety regulations councils should not be cajoled into moving away from commingling.
Denbighshire councils head of environmental services Steve Parker, told letsrecycle.com that the government has failed to include health and safety among the selection criteria in its last guidance on the Directive, published in July 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Mr Parker said: The Defra guidance only refers to four things; quality, cost effectiveness, cost efficiency and public acceptability. Health and safety doesnt even get a mention, and thats a massive oversight especially when you consider that local authorities are the duty holder under the Manual Handling Regulations and the Noise Regulations.
Local authorities have a legal duty to assess the risks when choosing their systems, so if we are to stay on the right side of the law, it has to be a relevant technical factor in the decision making process.
Mr Parker added that commingled collections have in some circumstances been shown to be safer than kerbside sort, which requires collection crews to carry out more heavy lifting as well as exposing them to greater noise levels.
Criteria
Denbighshire has called on Defra to include health and safety among its criteria in future guidance on the Waste Framework Directive, which is being drafted following the resolution of the Judicial Review over the governments position on commingled collections.
And, Mr Parker has pointed to evidence provided as part of the Judicial Review, advising the government to inform councils to take health and safety issues into account when choosing a collection method.
In its submission to the Judicial Review, the HSE stated: The responsibility for managing the risks for any collection process lies with the duty holder, in this case, the local authorities and need to be properly taken into account by them.
Mr Parker added We are hoping that the Welsh Government will now take on board the advice that the HSE directed towards them, i.e. that they should stop trying to dictate what systems Welsh authorities use, because they are not the duty holders under health and safety law.
The council is the top recycling authority in Wales, having achieved a 58% recycling rate using a commingled system, and has previously clashed with the Welsh Government over its preference for kerbside sort collections (see letsrecycle.com story ).
HSE guidance
In 2009 the Health and Safety Executive issued guidance which made it clear that local authorities should not compromise health and safety in favour of best-value when tendering waste and recycling collection contracts.
In the guidance, the HSE provided a large number of practical tips to reduce risks posed on collections, such as assessing the threat posed by areas of heavy traffic on collection routes and using assistants when reversing, (see letsrecycle.com story).
In response to the claims, the Welsh Government has pointed to guidance in its Municipal Sector Plan, published in 2011, stating: “In respect of collection systems, it is important that local authorities as employers and commissioners of services exercise their duty of care. In the absence of clear generic evidence one way or the other regarding collection systems, risk assessments for specific systems in specific areas should be factored in to local decision making processes.”
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