Health and safety statistics in waste management and recycling 

Waste management industry health and safety profile

'Mapping health and safety standards in the UK waste industry'¹, a report of a research project carried out by Bomel Limited for HSE shows that, in 2001-02:

• the number of fatal incidents are over ten times the national average;
• accident rates are four times the national average.

The incidents predominantly occur to refuse/recycling collection workers who manually handle and sort waste. The diagrams below are only intended as an indication of the industry statistics and caution is to be exercised in their interpretation.

The main causes of injury are:

By frequency of accident (total number of reported accidents)

• Manual handling injuries (including cuts from sharps)
• Slips and trips
• Struck by objects (eg refuse during collection)

By severity of accident (total reported major injuries and fatalities only)

• Slips and trips
• Struck by objects
• Transport-related accidents

Collecting waste and recyclables

Collection activities account for the majority of accidents within the industry. Particular areas that should be considered are:-

• Musculoskeletal injuries from handling receptacles of waste and recyclables.
• Slips and trips.
• Vehicle operations, particularly reversing and the risks of 'struck by injury' to both workers and members of the public.
• Personal protective equipment eg high-visibility clothing and cut-resistant clothing.
• Personal hygiene and on-board handwashing facilities.
• Hoist/ receptacle compatibility.

Health

Statistical data on health issues within the waste industry is currently unreliable, and research continues. However, health concerns include:

• Manual handling
• Hygiene issues
• Exposure to bioaerosols
• Noise in glass collection

Sources

Sources used for the graphs above:-

• Mapping health and safety standards in the UK waste industry
• Health and safety statistics highlights

Changes to statistics

A follow-up to the report Mapping health and safety standards in the UK waste industry extracts and analyses the most recent data on the waste management and recycling industries from the current Standard Industrial Classification categories

On 1 January 2008, the recording of data commenced using the new Standard Industrial Classification coding (SIC 2007).

SIC 2007 improves the production and reliablility of accident and ill-health statistics since many waste and recycling activities are allocated their own codes.