Waste management industry initiative to reduce accidents and ill health supported by the Health and Safety Commission and Executive

HSC press release: C028:04 - 8 July 2004

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) launched its Accident Reduction Charter today as a major new initiative to improve the health and safety performance in the waste management industry.

The ESA's Charter aims to reduce the incidence rate of RIDDOR reportable accidents by 10% every year until 2007 and to eliminate fatalities by the end of that period. The baseline year for measuring progress against the targets is 2002.

Witnessed by Health and Safety Commissioner, Judith Hackitt, the board of ESA made the commitment to improve the industry's health and safety performance at a signing ceremony at ESA's headquarters.

Judith Hackitt, said:

"The Health and Safety Commission and Executive welcome and support this important initiative. It is crucial that sectoral trade associations such as ESA support and encourage the individual companies to improve health and safety performance and spread good practice across the whole sector.

"ESA is the natural focus for health and safety good practice across the waste management sector and must continue to play the lead role in ensuring that the industry is a safe place to work."

Paul Harvey, Principal Inspector of the national waste and recycling group within the Health and Safety Executive, who was also present at the ceremony said:

"We welcome this initiative and the commitment made by ESA to help the industry improve its performance. There is a lot to be done to reduce the personal and financial cost of accidents and ill health in this sector and ESA's work will do much to improve the health and safety performance."

Notes to editors

1. ESA is the UK's sectoral trade association for waste and secondary resource management, an industry accounting for 0.5% GDP.

2. The accident rate for the UK waste industry is over four times that of the rest of UK industry at 2500 reportable accidents per 100,000 workers. The HSE research report "Mapping health and safety standards in the UK waste industry" provides full details of the performance of the industry. The report is available on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr240.htm. See also press release E083-04 dated 16 June 2004 at http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2004/e04083.htm

3. The Accident Reduction Charter has been incorporated into ESA's Code of Conduct, and is supported by a Health and Safety Action Plan, which has been prepared to assist ESA's Members in reducing accident rates. The ESA Accident Reduction Charter is administered by the Environmental Services Association and is endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive.

4. A photograph of the charter being signed by ESA Chairman Mr David Riddle and HSC commissioner Judith Hackitt is available in electronic format at http://www.esauk.org/

5. The ESA Accident Reduction Charter is supported by a Health and Safety Action Plan, which has been prepared to assist ESA's Members in reducing the incidence rate of RIDDOR reportable accidents. RIDDOR - the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 - requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not to all incidents.

Press enquiries

All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office