HSE Looks for Improvement in Health and Safety Standards in the Recycling Industry
In a study conducted recently it has been learnt that there was a higher number of fatal accidents that occurred in the recycling industry as compared to the national average. It was also found out that injury risk was much higher for workers in this particular industry.
To deal with this problem, the HSE has come out with new guidelines that have been sent to the Local Authorities to ensure that they are aware that they would be held accountable for any mishaps while dealing with waste recycling and management. The guidelines will help educate the Local Authorities about their legal duties, as they seem to believe that they are not responsible for any health and safety issues related to waste management contractors.
In order to make this change easily accessible, the guidance has been put online, so that Local Authorities can make safety and health a vital component while using contractual services.
The HSE also stated that they would be organizing many events, which would help the Local Authorities learn from other people’s experiences and allow them to get insight on new management solutions for waste recycling. Judith Hackitt, the HSE chairperson, spoke at the first event, which was organized recently and urged the LAs to use common sense and ensure that occupational health and safety was given prime importance.
To make sure that these efforts are not wasted the HSE would also be conducting inspections on the Local Authorities’ waste services department. The HSE has already directed its inspectors to evaluate the relationship that the Local Authorities have with their contractors. They have been also instructed to make any recommendations that would help to improve the safety and health standards in this area.
Employers have a duty towards ensuring health and safety of the workers; a NEBOSH course can be of benefit to organisations in providing the knowledge to manage safely and effectively in compliance with both the organisation’s policy and best practice in health and safety and it can also be tailored to meet the needs of any particular organisation – click on NEBOSH Distance Learning for a unique web-based training programme from Workplace Law leading to the award of the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health.
