HSE issues safety guidance for MRF operators

The guidelines, produced by HSE in consultation with Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum and published last month (July), aim to provide solutions on how managers, designers, supervisors and users of MRFs can reduce the risk of serious injury or ill health.

The report, titled ‘Designing and operating MRFs safely’ informs employers they should conduct sufficient risk assessments of their activities under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

It goes on to advise that MRFs have specific ergonomic demands when workers are hand-sorting materials, which should be taken into account. Requirements considered include reducing excessive pick-up rates to avoid overexertion, and provision of adequate lighting on pick-up lines.

Machinery, it states, should be fitted with appropriate guarding, such as fixed guards to enclose dangerous parts, and perimeter fencing to enclose a larger quantity of machines. Guards and gates should be fitted with interlocking devices, to ensure a machine cannot start until they are closed and cannot open until they have stopped moving.

Advice

An HSE spokesman said: This is one of a series of guidance leaflets for the waste industry guidance which we have largely produced with the WISH forum. Whilst it cannot cover every risk, it does provide advice on the main health, safety and welfare issues at material recovery facilities.

The guidance shows how stakeholders can comply with the law and represents a reliable reflection of proven industry practice. It will also assist internally providing relevant information to inspectors working in the field.

The publication of the guidance follows a rise in worker-related deaths across the waste industry as a whole in 2012/13, which has been described as a particularly bad year by chair of the WISH forum Chris Jones (see letsrecycle story).

The WISH forum has also developed a five-pronged safety roadmap, launched in June 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story), which is aimed at driving down the accident rates in the waste sector. Key initiatives included in the blueprint are the development of leadership standards from within the waste sector as well as publishing new training materials on successful worker involvement.