Injury Rate in Waste and Recycling Industry Drops by 15% in Three Years
Statistics recently published in the Bomel report show a decline in the number of injuries in the waste and recycling industry since 2003-2004. The injury rate in 2007-08, compared with that in 2003-04, has gone down by about 15%. The figures show about 2,207 injuries occurring per 100,000 workers, which however is still more than four times the average all-industry rate of 518. The number is also twice the injury rates seen in the manufacturing and construction industries.
The Bomel report analysis shows that despite the improvement in the safety standards in the UK waste industry, the nature of injuries suffered by the workers has remained unchanged in the last few years. Almost 80% of the injuries comprised of strains, trips and incidents in which workers were struck by equipment or waste. It was also noted that 75% of the victims were involved in collection, arranging or disposal of waste materials.
Geoff Cox, the HSE’s Head of Manufacturing Sector, said that after the release of the first report on the injury rates in 2004, all parties involved have put in a lot of effort to improve the poor safety scenario in the industry. Although the performance of the industry in the beginning of the decade was poor, there has been steady progress, with 800 lesser injuries per year. With inputs from the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum, the HSE aims to further reduce the number of workers being injured.
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Cox also mentioned HSE’s four-year plan, under which actions will be taken to target industries, which have poor safety conditions. They will also strive to redraw the agreements for contract workers employed by the local authorities and increase involvement in research on the sources of ill health at the workplace. He said that it is the responsibility of employers and contractors to abide by the safety rules to bring the injury rate down to even lower levels.
