NEWS
Fluctuation in reporting rates gives cause for concern in waste industry
The Environmental Services Association (ESA), the voice of the UK’s resource and waste management industry, recently highlighted the variation in health and safety performance that persists within the industry.
Health and safety statistics published by HSE show that injuries in the waste management industry have increased from the year before. A provisional 2015/16 RIDDOR injury rate of 1,854, represents a 6.3% increase on 2014/15. However, what is perhaps masked
by HSE’s headline data is the wide variation in performance that exists within the industry, with ESA Members achieving a 32% injury reduction. ESA’s RIDDOR (Reporting of
Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) injury rate
of 628 is nearly three times lower than that of the wider waste industry, and suggested the 67.5% reduction in injuries achieved by ESA Members since 2009 has not been mirrored by the waste industry as a whole (a 17.5% reduction). ESA’s Policy Advisor, Stephen
Freeland said: “While there is certainly no room for one-upmanship when it comes to health and safety, it is nonetheless important to help shed light on the variation in performance that exists within our industry. “We hope that our report and data
update will allow for resources to be better targeted on those areas which can bring about most meaningful improvement in the industry’s overall performance. “Going forward, ESA will continue
to work to ensure that ‘lessons learnt’ and best practice is disseminated for the benefit of all”.
Teesside recycling firm held responsible for
massive 16 day blaze A wood recycling firm responsible for what was described as “Britain’s biggest bonfire” in the national media has been fined over £70,000.
UK Wood Recycling were accused at Teesside Crown Court of significantly exceeding the safe sizes of wood stacks between April and September 2014 at their Wilton site near Redcar. A huge blaze at the Teesside plant lasted for 16 days in
December 2013, and cost Cleveland Fire Brigade a total of £235,000. During proceedings, UK Wood Recycling were also
accused by an Environment Agency lawyer of flouting regulations following the fire. It was alleged stack piles were ten times greater than published guidelines when Agency officers subsequently visited the site. The company pleaded guilty on the opening day of the
trial to keeping controlled waste in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution, or harm human health. Judge Howard Crowson said UK Wood Recycling had
been prepared to “deliberately” breach regulations and fined the firm £72,000, also ordering a repayment of more than £71,000 in costs.
Gateshead company sets the standards for recycling!
Gateshead based waste management company Aim To Recycle has recently been accredited with two prestigious British Standards certificates.
Having undergone extensive audits covering quality assurance and environmental compliance, the company has announced their success in achieving ISO9001 (Quality Assurance) and ISO14001 (Environmental Compliance) accreditation. The family owned business has been
operating in the Gateshead area for over 15 years, and prides itself in its’ specialist automotive waste processing, as well as a recycling portfolio of products such as cardboard, paper and plastics. Employing 20 staff, the company has a large
and loyal north east customer business base. Over the last couple of years, Managing Director Adam McDonald has strategically focussed the company business model to be at the forefront of proactive and reactive responses in the ever changing world of waste management. The company recently introduced a specialist
data destruction service, and also offers an advisory service to businesses wanting to gain more knowledge on how to deal with recyclable wastes. David Myers, Project Manager at Aim To
Recycle, commented: “The world of recycling has gone through a massive phase of change over the last few years. Our customers are becoming more selective about the product they are buying from us, and are quite rightly demanding a higher quality from their supply chain. “At Aim To Recycle we work very closely
with our customers, small and large, to ensure the quality message is understood at all levels and the product we receive from them fulfils their requirements. “The success of that communication was
one of the contributory factors when being recognised as working to the parameters contained within both British Standards. “Our assessor was impressed with the
company rewarding regular customers with an opportunity to participate in a ‘Plant A Tree’ scheme. Those who reach recycling
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Office Administrator Kayleigh Johnson with Engineer Richard Newby.
milestones with us, have trees planted on their behalf in a beautiful woodland area in County Durham. “While we may be a small company in the
world of waste management, we are big with our attitude towards quality assurance and environmental compliance. Every employee here works really hard to avoid the unnecessary diversion of waste to landfill.”
Issue 132 December 2016 SHM 5
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