Recycling firm fined after worker seriously injured

Co. Durham-based First Skips Ltd receive £3,350 fine after employee hit by waste handler

A WASTE and recycling firm has been prosecuted for safety failings after a worker was seriously injured when a waste-handling vehicle reversed into him. The 25-year-old man, who has asked not be named, was working in a sorting shed at First Skips’ Shotton Colliery when the incident occurred on 8 October 2009.

He was sorting recyclable material by hand from the area where dry waste was deposited. A telescopic materials handler was being operated close by and as the driver of the vehicle carried out his operations, he reversed into the area where the other employee was working. The vehicle struck the employee and knocked him to the ground. The worker suffered a broken shoulder, two fractured toe bones and a cracked rib. He was off work for several months but has since made a full recovery.

Victoria Wise, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), told Peterlee Magistrates’ Court the company had failed to ensure that a safe system of work was in place for the hand sorting of recyclables near moving vehicles, despite the fact that this activity made up a substantial part of the company’s daily operations.

First Skips Ltd were fined £3,350 and ordered to pay £3,528.70 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Inspector Wise commented: ‘The injured worker was lucky not to be killed as a result of this incident, which could have easily been avoided had the company implemented a safe system of work that segregated moving vehicles from pedestrians.

‘Workplace transport can pose a significant risk of substantial harm if it isn’t properly controlled, and the general safety measures that can be implemented are well known in the industry. There is no excuse for not having a safe system of work in place.

‘This prosecution should act as a wake up call to those, particularly in the waste and recycling industry, who are failing to effectively manage health and safety.’