Waste industry cleans up act on safety at work

Working in waste and recycling is now one of the most dangerous jobs in the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said, prompting the industry’s biggest players to commit themselves to improvements.

Its latest figures suggest that the number of fatal incidents in the industry is more than 10 times the national average, and reportable acci­dents more than four times the national average.

As a result, members of the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum, which includes the key organ­isations associated with the industry, have committed themselves to a five-year charter to reduce reportable accident rates by 10% per year over five years, and reduce the number of working days lost to accidents and ill health.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

They have also pledged to promote more effective health and safety management, improve the health and safety climate and attitudes in the workforce, and increase competence levels.

HSE chair Judith Hackitt said: “It is heartening to see a strategic forum such as WISH commit to reducing the level of workplace accidents and ill health in their sector. This charter will bring WISH member organ­isations together to share best practice and to focus on a positive, common goal.”