Speaking at a seminar in London yesterday, HSE principal inspector Paul Harvey said an inspection of 260 local authorities had shown widespread improvement in practice during 2005/06.
”50% of accidents in the waste industry occur to workers in the public sector, who are dealing with household waste. “
– Paul Harvey, HSE
Mr Harvey revealed: “It is not unusual for an authority to improve by 50% in a year – it's good encouragement for me.”
The HSE was highlighting early results of the three-year initiative, now in its second year, at a seminar organised with the Environmental Services Association.
Mr Harvey was keen to point out that there are still crucial areas where improvement is needed in safety. Inspectors have found the provision of toilet facilities and wash basins was often completely lacking on waste vehicles, an issue which Mr Harvey said “needs a bit of force.”
Reversing
Over 40% of operatives had a “lack of clarity or understanding” of reversing safety, and often collected rubbish from both sides of roads at once, he said, forcing staff to cross roads unnecessarily.
The monitoring of supervisors by organisations was also “not fantastic”, Mr Harvey warned. The HSE principal inspector suggested the appropriate planning of waste services was lacking, identifying it as the lowest-scoring area of practice.
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Mr Harvey said: “50% of accidents in the waste industry occur to workers in the public sector, who are dealing with household waste. Our teams work in isolation, so we need to make sure management controls in the collection industry are good.”
The waste management sector has one of the poorest health and safety records among industry sectors. The ESA, the waste industry's major trade association, launched a major push to improve health and safety practice this year (see letsrecycle.com story).
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