WISH information release - December 2012

Action and inclusion are the aims of major WISH restructure

Inclusion for all of the waste and recycling industry and action to improve health and safety standards are the twin aims of a major restructure of WISH (Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum).

Chris Jones, Chair of WISH, said: "WISH has been in existence for more than 10 years and has become the primary health and safety body for waste and recycling. However, as the industry has developed and changed WISH has not. This has resulted in a potential mismatch between what the sector needs and what WISH can provide. The restructure we are now progressing will address this gap and make WISH more action centred and representative of the wider waste and recycling sector."

"A new, smaller WISH Steering Group will take over the day-to-day running of WISH and ensure that the WISH strategy is progressed in an effective and timely manner. At the same time WISH membership will be thrown open to a wider range of industry organisations making WISH more inclusive of what is a rapidly growing and changing sector. Critical to the restructure will be working groups aimed at specific tasks to support the overall objective of improving the waste and recycling sector's health and safety performance. These working groups will be open to all WISH members and will tackle industry-wide topics or specific issues relating to one part of the sector."

"To ensure all of the industry can have their say WISH in partnership with the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) is to hold a national summit event on 7 February 2013. The event will enable attendees to explore key issues for the industry and to contribute their ideas on potential topics/actions for WISH and its working groups to take forward in the future"

Interest in WISH has increased over time, in particular following the release of the Health and safety Executive's (HSE) Bomell Report in 2004. This report – the first ever report on the British waste management industry's health and safety performance – showed that the sector has accident rates similar to construction and agriculture and a fatal accident rate ten times the all-industry average. While there have been signs of improvement in some parts of the industry, the overall picture is still one of a sector which needs to improve.