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HSE waste and recycling ebulletin

Issued: 12 February 2024

This edition of the waste and recycling bulletin includes new guidance from Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) and details of recent enforcement prosecutions.

New WISH guidance on safety in the operation of RCVs

In January 2024 WISH issued an amended position statement on the safe use of RCV (refuse collection vehicle) bin-lift equipment operating in automatic mode.

This follows a restriction which was placed on BSEN1501-5:2021, the standard which covers this equipment.

The guidance can be found in the Safety in the Operation of Automatic Bin Lifting Equipment on RCVs (.pdf)

New WISH guidance on handing of Bioaerosols

WISH have released guidance on the control of bioaerosols, complex mixture of bacteria, fungal spores, and other fragments of biological origin that are suspended in air.

There is potential for bioaerosols to be generated during handling and processing of organic materials in many waste and recycling activities.

The guidance can be found in the Bioaerosols in Waste and Recycling (.pdf)

Latest prosecutions

Recent enforcement activity includes:

Recycling company fined after worker killed by loading shovel

The recycling company has been fined 2.15million after an agency worker was killed by a loading shovel at its site.
HSE's investigation found that the company failed to protect pedestrians from the mobile plant operations it was carrying out at the site. There were no suitable traffic management arrangements in place, meaning pedestrians were at risk of being struck by moving vehicles, including loading shovels.
For further details read this press release

Yard manager jailed following death of employee in shredder