Sorting/Processing of waste

Sorting

If not sorted at the kerbside, waste may be taken to centralised premises, such as transfer stations or materials recycling facilities (MRFs) for sorting and or processing.

Hazards at these sites include:

• Hand sorting with vehicle assistance
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Transport movements

The materials may be sorted on site into constituent components (eg paper, plastics, metals etc) and may be part processed on site.

Processing

The further processing of recyclates involves a number of discrete sub-industries of the waste management and recycling Industry, including:

• Composting
• Metals recycling
• End-of-life vehicle industry
• Health and safety in the recovered paper sector
• Plastics
• Glass
• Rubber
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)