Plastics firm fined £15,000 after worker injures fingers
The employee, who wished to not be named, suffered serious injury to four fingers on his left hand, including amputation of two, following the incident at the Merseyside facility in May 2009. The case against Roydon Granulation, which has headquarters in Rochdale, was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and tried at St Helens Magistrates' Court at the end of last month (May 25). The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and, in addition to the £15,000 fine, was also ordered to pay £4,347 towards the cost of the prosecution.
Following the case, HSE inspector Richard Clarke said: “One of the factory's employees suffered serious injuries because basic health and safety procedures were not followed. He has still not returned to work more than a year on from the incident. By law, the preferred solution would have been for the workers to switch off and lock off the power supply to the fan with padlocks. If this was not possible, then temporary guards should have been put in place. These or other equally effective measures were not taken.”
Avery Weigh-Tronix launches weighbridge scrappage scheme
The scheme, known as ‘Cash for Clunkers', will run to November 2010 and sees Avery Weight-Tronix remove the old weighbridge, dispose of it free of charge and offer a further £500 redeemable on a new weighbridge. In addition, the company is also offering a 30% price reduction on a new weighbridge, complete with a five-year services package. Avery Weigh-Tronix said it is introducing the scheme as a means of helping stimulate investment in waste infrastructure at a time of economic hardship.
Dave Webb, director at Avery Weigh-Tronix, said: “In the current climate investment in major infrastructure like weighbridge systems can sometimes be delayed. There comes a point however, when such an investment must be made.”
ERP targets young people with battery recycling film
Pan-European battery recycling scheme, the European Recycling Platform (ERP), has launched a battery recycling campaign aimed at encouraging young people to increase the amount of batteries they recycle.
Launched last week (May 25), the campaign takes the form of a three-minute film narrated by a 12-year old boy from Cornwall, which charts the journey of a battery from being put out for recycling at his school through to it being sent to France for recycling. The campaign comes six months after regulations came into effect which makes producers legally responsible for funding the collection, treatment and recycling of waste batteries (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commenting on the campaign, Lord Henley, minister for waste and recycling, said: “Half of all toys in UK homes need batteries, and so being able to recycle batteries at school is a great way for our children to put what they learn about protecting the environment into practice.”
Hippowaste appoints two recruits to sales team
The two appointments are Rachel Bicker, who joins from a consultancy firm, and Amanda King, who was a member of Hippowaste's marketing team. Ms Bicker has had a number of roles across business-to-business publishing and consultancy across a 15-year career, which has included working with clients such as Microsoft UK, HM Revenue & Customs, the Department for Transport and the Fire & Rescue Service. Ms King joined Hippowaste in 2006 and has now been chosen to handle, what the firm terms, a number of key accounts. The appointments come shortly after Hippowaste chose to relocate to a larger premises at Lakeside.
Stephen Noar, executive chairman of Hippowaste, said: “The appointments of Rachel and Amanda to the sales team underlines our commitment to grow. Both have an impressive track record in business development and their expertise and skills are already an asset to the company.”
Commercial food waste firm launched in Bournemouth
Two former international sports stars have launched a commercial food waste collection service set to target businesses in Bournemouth and the surrounding areas.
The company is a joint venture of Andy Jones, a former Welsh International footballer and Simon Heaps, a former England International table tennis player, who have joined forces to launch Eco Food Recycling Limited, a commercial food waste management and collection service. Operating throughout Bournemouth and the surrounding areas, Eco Food Recycling is intended to provide a food waste recycling service to schools, colleges, hospitals, restaurants, pubs and canteens.
Commenting on the launch, Mr Heaps, director at Eco Food Recycling, said: “We identified the market as having very strong moral and environmental issues as currently the majority of commercial food waste is taken to landfill sites; which contributes to the rise in greenhouse gases. All food waste is converted into compost and enables our clients to significantly reduce their carbon footprint.”
Register for free to comment