Neales Waste Management handed 15,000 fine

The firm was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an unnamed 44-year old employee fell four metres to the ground whilst trying to remove waste that had become stuck on the roof of a collection vehicle.

Neales admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety Work Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. Along with the 15,000 fine, the company was ordered to pay 11,661 in prosecution costs on Tuesday (November 29).

The incident happened on September 7 2010 when the worker was helping to empty a skip at the Walker Industrial Park in Guide, Blackburn.

The employee had climbed up some metal bars on the vehicle to remove the stuck waste and fell when the access fixings gave way, causing him to fall. The employee suffered a broken right elbow and damage to his left foot.

Investigation

The HSE investigation found that Neales Waste Management, which handles more than 270 tonnes of waste every year, had allowed workers to use the metal bars to reach the top of the vehicle, despite them not being designed for that purpose.

The court was told that waste often became stuck on the roofs of vehicles while the contents of overfilled skips were being emptied. But the firm did not have an acceptable health and safety procedure in place for removing stuck waste.

HSE Inspector Imran Siddiqui said: The employee at Neales was lucky he wasnt more seriously injured in the fall. He could easily have suffered life-changing injuries as a result.

Unfortunately the company wrongly assumed the metal bars on the front of the vehicle could be used as a ladder to climb up to the roof. They were not designed to be used in this way and Neales should not have allowed this practice to continue.

Last year more than 150 workers suffered major injuries in the recycling industry in the UK and one was killed, according to the HSE.

In September 2006 Lancashire county council awarded Neales two six-year contracts to operate waste transfer stations in Preston and Middleton (see letsrecycle.com story).