Wigan wood recycler fined for safety failings

Boden & Davies Ltd, which produces animal bedding and cat litter from recycled woodchip, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on Friday (June 20) after an investigation at its Astley site found employees were put at risk of falling up to four metres on to a concrete yard.

Trafford Magistrates Court heard workers had climbed on to the top of the trailers on several occasions in order to level the woodchip or if the covering sheet became snagged and could not be rolled out properly.

To facilitate the operation, Boden & Davies, a member of the Wood Recyclers Association, had provided a built-in working platform at the front of the trailers but even this did not comply with health and safety legislation as there was still risk of workers being injured in a fall.

And, despite the presence of the platform, workers were not always able to use it to complete the task, and often resorted to climbing on top of the load instead.

The firm was also found to have failed to provide adequate instructions or training to drivers on how to cover the loads safely, and there was no system in place to supervise their work.

Boden & Davies, which pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, was also ordered to pay £709 in prosecution costs.

Risk

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Mike Lisle said: “Falls from height are the most common cause of workplace deaths in the UK and the lives of employees at Boden & Davies were put at risk every time they climbed on top of the lorry trailers.

“The company has since introduced a harness system which means its employees are properly protected when they carry out this work. If this system had been in place sooner, then employees would not have been put in danger.”

When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Boden & Davies Ltd was not available for comment.

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