Flintshire HWRC staff could wear CCTV cameras
Flintshire county council has proposed that staff at household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) wear CCTV cameras on their bodies to record and report any incidents.
The council says it has put the proposal forward as the level of abuse and threats of violence HWRC staff face is an “ongoing concern”.
Flintshire approved the plans at a meeting yesterday (15 November), alongside reviewing vehicle permitting criteria to make it clearer to users and to ensure that traders do not take advantage of the system.
A report which went before the council said that the vehicle permit scheme could be a “very emotive” topic and any changes can result in negative feedback from service users.
The report reads: “When questioned or challenged by our staff, some of these customers became abusive and violent, leading to unpleasant working environments.”
The document added that since the launch of the permit scheme in March, the service had received almost 2,000 applications for a vehicle permit. “Of those, fewer than 300 applications have been refused due to the vehicle not complying with the new policy,” the report said.
Scrap metal company fined after worker loses fingers
A scrap metal company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker lost parts of four fingers while operating “poorly maintained” machinery, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says.
On 27 March 2020, a man working for Chichester-based Infinity Metals Limited lost multiple fingers while operating the machinery at a site in Stanningley, Leeds, the HSE says.
An HSE investigation found the employee had leant over a crocodile shear to clear metal away while it was in motion and caught his right hand in the machine, causing him to lose four of his fingers.
Infinity Metals Limited, of Spur Road, Quarry Lane Industrial Estate, Chichester, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act, the HSE says. The company was fined £26,680 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £7,005 at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 9 November.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Darian Dundas said: “The lack of clear roles and responsibilities together with insufficient training and poorly maintained machinery played a significant part in this incident.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply maintaining the machinery in good working order, ensuring that the correct control measures were present, and ensuring that safe working practices were adhered too.”
Former Chief Whip visits GJF’s manufacturing plant
The MP for Aldridge-Brownhills and former Chief Whip of the Conservative Party visited skip maker GJF Fabrications’ manufacturing plant on 10 November.
GJF gave Wendy Morton a tour of the facility at Brownhills in the West Midlands to show her their production processes post-pandemic.
GJF says they also discussed the company’s ongoing investment developments and growth strategy.
Ms Morton met with the company’s managing director, Dougie Craig, and thanked him for showing her how the production line worked.
“I was delighted to meet Dougie and the team and see first-hand the work which GJF Fabrications Ltd do,” she said.
“They are a valuable employer in my Aldridge-Brownhills constituency and provide a respected service to their clients.
“I very much look forward to visiting again in the future with the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.”
Malta launches DRS to reach 90% recycling rate
Malta launched its deposit return scheme (DRS) yesterday (14 November) with a digital solution from Sensoneo, which also integrated the system in Slovakia.
The move comes after a DRS has been introduced in 12 other EU countries, including Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and others.
The country’s DRS is operated by BCRS Malta, which is the licensed not-for-profit private operator of the national ‘Beverage Container Refund Scheme’. The organisation was incorporated by associations of beverage container producers, importers and retailers.
Sensoneo said that its solution integrates all stakeholders and gathers data from all sources within the process chain.
CEO of BCRS Malta, Edward Chetcuti, explained: “A deposit of 0.10 euro is added when buying beverages in single-use containers within the DRS scope. The scheme covers aluminium and steel cans, glass and PET bottles with a capacity between 0.1 and 3 litres. Dairy, juices, wine and alcoholic spirits exceeding 5.0 % alcohol by volume are not included in the scheme.”
With an estimated population of 517,000, the country currently recycles less than 20% of single-use beverage containers and is aiming to reach the goal of 90% by 2026.
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