1. Waste Industry Health & Safety
Performance, Issues, HSE Sector Plan, Guidance

2. EWMG Veronica Scarano Dave West
Presentation to East Midlands Branch 19 September 2019
Veronica Scarano
Deputy Communications Coordinator – EWMG
Dave West
Liaison Officer – EWMG
Welcome everyone
Introduce speakers and say thank you for inviting IOSH Environmental & Waste Management Group to speak at this event.

3. Waste Industry Performance
5,000 workers suffering from work-related ill health (ave. over 9 yr period)
5,000 non-fatal injuries to workers (ave. over 7 yr period)
12 fatal injuries to workers for 2017/18
12 fatal injuries to members of the public as a result of work activity in the sector (over 5 yrs to March 2016)
Labour Force Survey results, averaged from the last 9 years of data, show there was an average of 5,000 workers suffering from a new or long-standing ill-health case.
Similarly, Labour Force Survey results, averaged over the last 7 years of data, show there was an average of 5,000 workers who sustained an injury at work.
RIDDOR results show there were 12 fatal workplace injuries, which is slightly above the annual average of 8 over the last five years.
And data from the HSE’s Sector Plan confirms there were 12 fatalities to members of the public over a 5-year period, though this excludes road traffic accidents, so the figure is likely to be higher than this.
But these figures don’t mean a lot on their own, so let’s have a look at how they compare to other sectors, to put them into context.

4. Waste Industry Performance
Industry Comparison – Ill Health
4.5% of workers in Waste suffered from work- related ill health (new or long standing cases), which is statistically significantly higher than the rate for workers across All industries (3.1%)
Only the Human Health & Social Work Activities industry has a worse record (4.6%)
The waste industry has a work-related ill-health incidence rate of 4,470 per 100,000 workers, that’s 4.5% of the industry’s workforce, which is statistically significantly higher than the rate for workers across all industries of 3.1%
Only…..(read 2nd bullet on slide)

5. Waste Industry Performance
Industry Comparison – Non Fatal Injuries
3.9% of workers in Waste sustained a workplace injury, which is statistically significantly higher than the rate for workers across All industries (1.9%)
Only the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing industry has a worse record (4.1%)
The waste industry has a workplace injury incidence rate of 3,910 per 100,000 workers, that’s 3.9% of the industry’s workforce, which again is statistically significantly higher than the rate for workers across all industries of 1.9%
Only…..(read 2nd bullet on slide)

6. Waste Industry Performance
Industry Comparison – Fatal Workplace Injuries
The Waste sector has a rate of fatal workplace injury around 16 times the average rate across All industries
Only the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing industry has a worse record (8.20)
The most noticeable poor performance area, sadly, is when we look at fatal workplace injuries.
The incidence rate of 7.22 fatalities per 100,000 workers means the chances of you dying in the waste industry are 16 times that across all industries
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing has a higher rate again, but there is a huge gap between these two industries and the next worse industry, which is Construction at a rate of 1.77.
The figures quoted here are averaged over the last 5 years, giving a more stable picture. Looking at 2017/18 in isolation, the Waste Industry had the worst incidence rate, at 10.26, with Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing the 2nd worst with a rate of 8.44.

7. Breakdown of all GB workplace fatalities by region
Breakdown of all GB workplace fatalities by region for 2017/18
last 5-year average was 144
These figures are bad news for those working in the Waste Industry
Looking at the breakdown of all GB workplace fatalities by region, all area appear to perform poorly with the exception of the North East of England.

8. What are the Issues
Effects of work related Ill Health
Three quarters of work-related ill-health cases were suffering from:
Musculoskeletal disorders, or;
Stress, depression or anxiety
The other workers were suffering from other types of illness, such as skin or respiratory conditions
The EWMG have their own Twitter Account, reaching members using a more modern media to those traditionally used. This will be imperative in future with younger would-be members being brought up with several social media platforms.
For those interested, check

9. What are the Issues Immediate Causes of Non Fatal Incidents at Work
RIDDOR-reported workplace injuries for each causal type are split into those reported as an over-7-day injury and those reported as a specified injury, such as a broken bone.
The two stand-out immediate causes are manual handling and slips / trips whilst to a lesser extent, other contributing risks include moving / flying / falling objects and falls from height.

10. What are the Issues Over the 5-year period 2013/14-2017/18:
Immediate Causes of Fatal incidents at work
Over the 5-year period 2013/ /18:
32% Contact with moving machinery
27% Struck by a moving vehicle
15% Struck by a moving / falling object
When it comes to fatalities in the waste industry, three stand-out causes account for three quarters of the total.
Contact with moving machinery accounts for 32%
Struck by moving vehicle accounting for 27%
and being struck by moving / flying / falling objects accounting for 15%

11. What are the Issues Human Factors of Fatal Workplace Injuries
The four key contributing human factors identified in a 2018 HSE report examining 18 fatal incidents across 12 SMEs and 6 larger companies, were:
Dangerous work environment, including poor separation between people and hazardous machinery onsite, as well as equipment being poorly-maintained and used incorrectly
Inadequate safety culture and safety management systems, such as a lack of proper procedures for conducting work safely
Errors by individuals due to lack of knowledge; and
Inadequate instructions supplied with equipment and poor risk assessments – this final point relates solely to SMEs
the 5-year period 2013/ /18:
32% Contact with moving machinery
27% Struck by a moving vehicle
15% Struck by a moving / falling object
(go through slide content)

12. What are the Issues
Causes of Fatal Injuries To Members Of The Public
Although no exact data is to hand, examples of fatalities to members of the public from waste industry activities include:
Struck by a moving vehicle;
“Bin / skip sleeping” incidents, with casualties subsequently coming into contact with machinery
(go through slide content)

13. Action by the HSE For the fiscal year 2017/18, there were:
Enforcement
For the fiscal year 2017/18, there were:
117 Prohibition Notices served;
420 Improvement Notices served;
27 Prosecution Cases (with guilty outcome);
Fines averaging £104,000 per case
So….what action has the regulator taken and what plans do they have in place for the industry?
(read through slide content)

14. Action by the HSE Sector Plan For Health and Safety
Waste and Recycling continues to be a priority sector for the HSE, with their Sector Plan aiming to achieve the following outcomes:
Reduction in fatalities due to moving vehicles / caught in moving machinery
Reduction in cases of MSDs and occupational lung disease
Ownership of the challenges by industry and leadership on implementing solutions
no exact data is to hand, examples of fatalities to members of the public from waste industry activities include:
Struck by a moving vehicle;
“Bin / skip sleeping” incidents, with casualties subsequently coming into contact with machinery
Clearly, as a result of the continued poor performance figures for the industry, ….(then read through slide content)

15. Action by the HSE What the HSE will do:
Causes of Fatal Injuries To Members Of The Public
What the HSE will do:
Focus inspections on risks posed by moving/reversing vehicles, contact with machinery and MSDs;
Share intelligence with other Regulators;
Engage with manufacturers and designers of work equipment, to design out risks;
Develop blend of interventions to highlight safety and health risks, and exemplify control measures, solutions and innovations;
Help SMEs manage health and safety
Actions that the HSE will take in order to achieve those aims are defined as:
Directing inspection activities and enforcement activity on risks posed by moving/reversing vehicles, contact with machinery and MSDs;
Sharing information and intelligence and working jointly with other regulators, eg Environment Agency, National Resource Wales, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, fire authorities and local authorities;
Engaging with manufacturers and designers of work equipment, to design out risks to workers’ health and safety;
Developing an appropriate blend of interventions to highlight safety and health risks, and exemplify control measures, solutions and innovations;
Helping SMEs manage health and safety sensibly and proportionately.
So…that’s what the HSE are doing to help improve waste industry performance, but where can safety professionals and others obtain help and guidance from, in order to address the issues?

16. Risk Control Guidance Provides guidance in relation to:
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Provides guidance in relation to:
Waste Operations
Waste Contracts
Safety Alerts
Health Topics
Safety Topics
Training.
The HSE’s website has a WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING sector page, providing guidance in relation to:
(read down list)

17. Risk Control Guidance
Waste Industry Safety & Health (WISH) Forum
Provides guidance produced by and for the waste industry, with support of HSE.
Currently x19 guidance documents.
Of huge benefit to those in the industry looking to improve Health & Safety Performance are Waste Industry Safety & Health (or WISH) Guides, of which there are currently 19, providing detailed advice, guidance and best practice on topics such as:
Waste and recycling vehicles in street collection
Skip and container safety in waste management and recycling
Safe transport in the waste management and recycling industry; and
Managing access to large waste and recycling bins, which tackles the issue of “BIN SLEEPERS”

18. Training IOSH Environmental & Waste Management Group (EWMG)
A FREE Modular training product, based on structure of IOSH Managing Safely, but aimed specifically at Team Leaders / Supervisors of municipal waste collection teams working on behalf of Local Authorities
(Elaborate on this and advise on how to check who has copy in each LA)

19. Guidance and Sources HSE Waste & Recycling Sector Page
WISH Guidance Documents W:
IOSH EWMG Training Product (free to LAs) W:
IOSH Technical Helpline
T: ‬ E:
(Elaborate on this and advise on how to check who has copy in each LA)

20. Guidance Sources CIWM Technical Helpline T: 01604 620426E:
IEMA Membership Services T: E:
iirsm Technical Helpdesk T: E:
(Elaborate on this and advise on how to check who has copy in each LA)

21. Synopsis
With twice the all-industry accident rate and 16 times the fatal accident rate, the waste industry remains a dangerous place to work.
Think fatality causes: machinery; vehicles; moving / falling objects; bin sleepers.
Think injury causes: manual handling; slips & trips; moving / falling objects; falls from height.
Senior Manager commitment is essential in short- and long-term to improve safety culture.
Behavioural Safety, in addition to robust controls and procedures, is required to improve H&S performance.
(Elaborate on this and advise on how to check who has copy in each LA)

22. Thank You Any Questions? Any questions?
Presentations in pdf form will be on the Branch Website over the coming days, located in the “RECENT EVENTS” section
They will similarly be on the EWMG’s website.