Made Moon Blog

The HSE has undertaken to address the issue of recycling and waste management by Local Authorities through a guidance, which shows proper procedures to be followed. A number of injuries and fatalities occur in this sector, which the HSE hopes to cut down through these initiatives.

The HSE guidance will inform Local Authorities on their legal responsibilities in using and working with waste and recycling services. As some LAs are not fully aware of their own responsibilities in this area, the HSE guideline can be used to educate them about these aspects.

Many LAs hire contractors to take care of these jobs and assume that their responsibilities are completed. However, this is not true. Health and safety needs to be a critical and indispensable feature of all procurement and contract management procedures and the guidance will elaborate on how this can be achieved.

These steps are being taken as statistics reveal that the recycling industry is responsible for nine times more fatal accidents than the national average and where injuries are concerned, four times as many workers are affected.

In addition to the guidance, the HSE will conduct regional events bringing LA members to a common forum where more information can be given. They can also learn from the experience of other participants and get advice on management issues.

HSE Chair Judith Hackitt spoke at the first such event and encouraged LAs to implement basic safety systems into their procurement and management procedures. Inspections of LA waste service departments will soon be started by the HSE.

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