The number of
workers in the waste and recycling sector fatally injured at work in the last
year has more than doubled in comparison to 2015/16, according to the Health
and Safety Executive’s (HSE) annual figures, released this week.
The data, which
is provisional, revealed that there were 14 fatal injuries to waste and
recycling workers between April 2016 and March 2017, compared to six deaths
recorded in April 2015-March 2016.
HSE said
despite being a relatively small sector in terms of employment, the annual
average fatal injury rate over the last five years is around ’15 times as high’
as the all industry rate.
Overall,
the industry data revealed that 137 workers were fatally injured between April
2016 and March 2017 (a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 workers), the second lowest
year on record.
Despite
HSE reporting a ‘long-term downward trend’ in the total number of fatal
injuries to workers – which have halved over the last 20 years – the waste and
recycling sector’s performance has been more variable.
The
fatalities in the sector in 2016/17 include the single incident at Shredmet
recycling in Birmingham on 7 July 2016 which resulted in five deaths.
As a
result of the incident, the rise in fatalities for 2016/17 was predicted by
Rick Brunt head of agriculture, waste and recycling at HSE.
Speaking
at the Organics Recycling Group’s (ORG) annual Health and Safety in Waste
Management conference last year, he said: “We already know that this year is
going to be bad compared with last year.”
Mr Brunt
added that further improvement was needed but that overly stringent measures
and disproportional standards should be avoided.
Following
the release of the 2016/17 figures, HSE chair Martin Temple said: “As we
approach the one-year anniversary of this incident, our thoughts remain with
the families of those who died. We continue to fully support West Midlands
Police’s investigation.
Further statistics published by HSE show that each
year in the waste sector around 5% (estimated 6,000) of workers suffer from an
illness they believe to be work-related; and, 5% (estimated 5,000) of workers
sustain a work-related injury. The HSE has recorded 30 worker related
fatalities over the last five years.
Mr Temple continued: ““Every fatality is a tragic
event that should not happen. While we are encouraged by this improvement on
the previous year, we continue unwaveringly on our mission to prevent injury,
death and ill health by protecting people and reducing risks.”
“We deal daily with the causes and consequences of
work-related deaths, injuries and ill health. Today’s updated figures continue
to inform our understanding of which areas we need to target.”
“We concentrate our interventions where we know we
can have the biggest impact. We hold dutyholders accountable for managing the
risks they create in the workplace. This benefits workers, business
performance, the economy and wider society alike.”
Source – letsrecycle.com – 6th July
2017.