Waste management and recycling case studies

HSE would like to promote case studies and publicise cases where successful action has been taken to remedy an identified problem. We invite others to share their experiences by sending examples to us here in the HSE Cardiff offices, however, it should be remembered that HSE cannot be responsible for the content or accuracy of materials provided by third parties.

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Self help for the Community Sector

Cylch (Wales Community Recycling Network) has over 60 full members carrying out community recycling activities throughout Wales, including kerbside recycling, re-use and composting.

Cylch together with CHERE (Centre for Environment Research and Expertise) has produced an interactive training tool, in the form of a CD Rom, which has been specifically designed for the community recycling, reuse and composting sector. The tool is divided into sections enabling the user to work at their own pace and takes them through various important aspects of health and safety, such as risk assessment. The tool also enables the user to link directly to applicable HSE documents without the need to trawl through the web.

The aim of the tool is to provide a source of relevant, up to date health and safety information and advice specifically for the sector that is easy to use and accessible. The intention is to regularly update the CD Rom so that it remains a valuable tool.

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Leeds City Council Fleet Services Team receives recognition for driver and vehicle safety

Achievements

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) awarded the RoSPA MORR Bronze Award to Leeds fleet safety team for their achievements which include an annual reduction in reported accidents and incidents over the last five years. Last year saw a 28.57% decrease in overall accident damage to the Council's fleet of 1200 vehicles.

How did they do it?

The fleets safety team supports a team of four, qualified to RoSPA driver assessor level and advanced driver standard, whose responsibilities include:

• carrying out mobile inspections (includes driver assessments and training) and issuing "passport's to drive" to successful participants;
• training refuse vehicle drivers who regularly drive on landfill sites;
• evaluating accidents and repeated incidents in order to target problem areas (includes waste collection).

This success is underpinned by guidance produced by HSE's Waste Industry Safety and Health group (WISH) and the waste industry.

RoSPA's assessors praised the council's forward thinking approach and the support shown from senior management and unions.

Terry Pycroft, Head of Fleet Services at Leeds City Council, said:

'This award was achieved by the hard work of the previous head of fleet and the team. I am pleased to see their efforts have paid off and that we have good support from our senior managers and receive recognition for the important contribution we make. We now have a great platform from which to build on.'

Councillor Steve Smith, executive board member responsible for transport services, said:

'I would like to congratulate the team for their hard work and commitment to delivering an excellent and valuable service for the benefit of council colleagues.
As an employer we take seriously the risks posed to employees who are involved in work related to driving and want them to feel sufficiently informed and skilled to deal with them.'

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Tower Hamlets Community Recycling Consortium Ltd (THCRC)

THCRC was formed in 2003 and is the largest tower block doorstep recycling collection scheme in Western Europe. A 'not profit distributing' company, it employs around 80 staff and services 75 000 households who live in blocks of flats in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

Achievements

• RIDDOR notification figures dropped by 75% over the last two years.
• Determined to maintain these low figures, they are using an independent consultant to help them achieve their ISO 18001.

How did they do it?

By investing in their staff. They spend approximately £700 per year per employee on special equipment such as mobile phones for recycling operatives and manual handling training.

They worked with their insurance underwriters to analyse risks then carried out 86 separate risk assessments.

'On the basis of this working relationship we were able to reduce the level of our insurance premium to the lowest in the industry,' said Managing Director Worku Lakew.

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Cory Environmental

Cory Environmental, operates across the country and employs over 1 000 people, providing a wide range of integrated services including street cleansing and municipal waste collection, recycling, transfer and disposal. Cory's services have been recognised with a number of awards for sustainable transport, the management of facilities and city cleanliness.

Achievements:

• Accident rates decreased from around 7 000 reportable accidents per 100 000 employees in 1995 to 1 772 per 100 000 in 2005.
• Days lost dropped from 860 in 2003 to 531 in 2005.
• Reduced insurance claims saved Cory more than £100 000 through lower premiums and lost deductibles since 2002.

How did they do it?

By raising awareness of safety issues, attitudes to health and safety changed. Compared to a year ago, most regard safety as part of their job.

• Over 150 managers took a series of safety management training modules.
• An awareness campaign covered areas such as risk assessment and accident investigation.
• Better communication and collaboration in the workforce emphasised issues such as the low rate of glove wearing by collection crews, resulting in a dramatic increase after making glove selection the subject of an open consultation process.
• Introducing Safety Infringement Note's (SIN) in late 2004 discouraged unacceptable or poor compliance with safety requirements by employees. This also encouraged managers to confront and explore the underlying reasons for unsafe behaviour.

Chris Jones, Director of Risk Management and Compliance for Cory, said: 'Cory is proud of its record and there is both enthusiasm and energy for safety throughout the business.

'It is difficult, however, to be proud of an industry sector which is frequently reported as injuring and killing so many people each year. We, as a company and within the industry, therefore need to continue to work hard on improving both the visible measures of our safety performance (like accident rates) and the perception and culture of safety that forms part of our management ethos.'

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Sims Group

Sims Group UK Limited is the European subsidiary of Sims Group Limited, the world’s leading recycler of metals and waste electronic equipment with a UK workforce exceeding 800.

Achievements:

• Reduced their total accident rate by 50 per cent in the last six years.
• Lost time accident rate reduced nearly 90% from year 2000 to annual totals now in single figures.
• Reduced the number of employee liability claims by 60 per cent between 2001 and 2005.
• Total savings over last five years equate to approximately £500,000 annually.

How did they do it?

• Carried out 1 000 risk assessments over last two years.
• Regular audits of all facilities, with outcomes communicated at senior level.
• Monthly health and safety awards for examples of best practice within employee roles.
• Improved safety culture and buy-in at all levels.
• Changed health and safety development from reactive audits to proactive behavioural assessments.

Paul Urbonas, H&S Manager for the Group, said: 'Transport is one of our front line key risk areas and we aim to deliver continual improvements. For example, we have changed our dated pure tone reversing alarms on our mobile plant to broadband 'white noise' sirens. We carry out machinery assessments to determine blind spots and fit extra mirrors and colour reversing cameras where needed. Our facilities staff have also been given on-site banksman training from ROSPA.'

Tom Bird, Managing Director for Sims Group Metal Recycling division commented: 'At Sims Group we are always seeking new and innovative ways to improve our health and safety performance. We are focused on promoting a real safety culture within the business and actively engage employees through our monthly Health and Safety Award scheme.'

The waste and recycling industry is often criticised for its health and safety performance compared to other industry sectors, Sims Group look forward to reporting continued improvements in the future.'