Preventing ill health in waste and recycling

This webpage explains the causes of health hazards in waste and recycling and provides links to guidance that will help you reduce the risks. It includes guidance on:

infectious material found in waste
routes to infection
preventive and protective measures

Main routes for health hazards

Health hazards in the waste and recycling industry are associated with 4 main routes:

skin contact, especially through cuts and abrasions or through contact with the eye's mucus membrane
injection through sharps injuries
ingestion through hand to mouth contact (commonly experienced when eating, drinking or smoking)
inhalation through the lungs, for example in composting

Discarded needles

The issue of dealing with drug-related litter, and especially needles, remains a matter of concern as it can result in injuries and infections for employees.

A needlestick or ‘sharps’ injury must be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) when an employee is injured by a needlestick or ‘sharp’ (for example a scalpel blade) known to be contaminated with a bloodborne virus (BBV).

This is reportable:

when the employee receives a needlestick or sharps injury and a BBV acquired by this route and tests positive on an antibody test
if the injury itself leads to a worker being incapacitated for more than 7 consecutive days

There is more specific advice about discarded needles in guidance from the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH) on health and hazardous waste.

You can also find HSE guidance on bloodborne viruses.

Personal hygiene

Although incidents due to personal hygiene do not often feature in RIDDOR data for the waste and recycling industry, local authority information has suggested lost time may be caused by:

poor hygiene education
lack of adequate washing facilities
poor personal hygiene practices among staff

Providing the right washing facilities

The provision of adequate washing facilities is important. Antiseptic hand wipes alone may be insufficient for refuse collection workers who may need to deal with skin contact with poisons and aggressive acids or alkalis.

These facilities will have more usage than in usual industrial situations and should be sufficiently robust to account for this. They should also be designed to be easily cleaned because of the amount of waste, dust and other residues that will be deposited
Good personal hygiene is vital for waste and recycling workers to prevent infections and other ill health caused by working with waste. The quality and performance of the washing facilities should reflect this need and be of a high standard
Provide adequate information and training to ensure workers understand the importance of hygiene and use the facilities that are available

WISH and HSE have produced guidance which requires minimal understanding of written English. It is aimed at improving the understanding of the importance of maintaining good health among waste workers: Stay clean - stay healthy. Looking after your health in the waste/recycling industry.

HSE also has guidance on Leptospirosis or Weil's Disease which can be transmitted by handling waste that has been infected by rats. The guidance is aimed at the construction industry but you may find it useful.

Hygiene facilities on waste and recycling collection vehicles

The selection and provision of hygiene facilities on recycling collection vehicles should be based on a risk assessment carried out under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH).

Where exposure cannot be eliminated, it should also be based on a hierarchy of controls and the assessment should factor in the following:

the nature and type of materials being collected
the potential level (low/medium/high) and frequency of contamination
levels of containment (bags, wheelie bins, boxes etc)
routes of exposure
the location of collection activities (for example rural or urban)

Find out more

The Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH) have guidance on the safe operation of waste and recycling collection vehicles.

Musculoskeletal disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for approximately one third of all reported injuries in the industry. The majority of these are associated with collection activities, and can be both acute (sudden injury) or chronic (cumulative injury).

The following factors influence the likelihood of a worker suffering a manual handling injury while lifting waste and recyclables:

the load weight
receptacle type and design
vehicle design
collection frequency
street environment
training
systems of work
working outside your capabilities

Your risk assessment should consider risks to workers and assess whether those risks have been adequately controlled. You should use the hierarchy of control measures set out in the HSE guidance on manual handling at work to take action where reasonably practicable.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations state that the need to carry out any manual handling operation likely to involve a risk of injury should be avoided so far as is reasonably practicable. Where manual handling cannot be avoided, you should take steps to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest reasonably practicable level.

The following reports are specific to the waste and recycling industry and may help you carry out a manual handling risk assessment. While these are older publications (available through the National Archives), they still represent good practice in the industry:

Those reports only cover manual handling risks – you will need to take into account other hazards as well as their consequences.

Find out more

Vibration

Hand-arm vibration

The use of vibrating tools and equipment in waste and recycling settings can result in operatives contracting health effects which affect the nerves, blood vessels, muscles and joints of the hands and arms.

The operation of hand-held power tools and hand-guided equipment can contribute to the overall risk and employers are required to risk assess activities to identify control measures.

Control measures would include the following:

alternative work methods, for example attachments on a machine rather than a hand-held piece of equipment
ensuring equipment is appropriately selected for the task
introducing a purchasing policy to ensure lower vibration equipment is purchased when tools need to be replaced
improving the design of workstations to benefit worker posture and reducing the strain on hands, wrists and arms etc
good equipment maintenance procedures
planning worker schedules or rotas in advance to reduce exposure levels
providing clothing to ensure workers are kept warm, which will encourage good circulation and reduce the risk of developing vibration white finger

HSE has developed a hand-arm vibration exposure calculator.

Whole-body vibration

Whole-body vibration may be a risk where a worker is operating vehicles for lengthy periods of time. HSE has general guidance on whole-body vibration at work.

Specifically in the waste and recycling sector, the most common areas of concern with regards to vehicle use are:

driving over rough surfaces while loading hoppers, moving waste or filling landsite locations
driving coupled with awkward driving positions (such as twisting in the seat to reverse a lot after dumping loads)
these activities combined with doing manual handling tasks (for example having to get out of the vehicle to move heavy items)

Find out more

Noise

Without adequate control, workers may be exposed to high levels of noise during various different waste and recycling activities (such as glass collection and in materials recovery facilities) and risk damage to their hearing.

Kerbside glass collections

Noise can be a problem at kerbside glass collections when the method of collection, the equipment provided and/or the personal protective equipment (PPE) have not been adequately risk assessed and effective preventive measures have not been taken.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations stepped hierarchy states that:

hazardous noise should be eliminated wherever possible
exposure to noise at source should be controlled using engineering means so far as reasonably practicable (such as enclosure and the use of noise-dampening materials)
adequate protective equipment (such as ear defenders) should be provided

Technical solutions have been developed within the industry to reduce the issue of high noise levels in glass collection. In many cases, noise-dampening materials have been capable of reducing noise emissions by up to a half (around 3 dB). However, they do not reduce noise emissions to levels where hearing will not be damaged, without additional action being taken.

Noise in materials recovery facilities

Most materials recovery facilities (MRFs) have processes which emit high noise levels exceeding the 80dB(A) and 85dB(A) levels at which employers are required to take action under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations.

Managing the risk – hierarchy of control measures

Protection is best achieved by controlling noise at source. Follow this sequence to reduce exposure – wearing hearing protection is the last resort.

When purchasing machinery or plant, obtain noise data from the supplier to inform your decision. The noise levels should be relevant to where workers will actually be
Move noisy machinery/plant into areas where there are no workers, or few workers (for example into an outbuilding or dedicated room)
Where noisy machinery/plant has to remain in the working area, enclose it within a sound-insulating enclosure if possible. Anti-vibration machine mountings may also be required
Where enclosure is not possible, reduce noise by other engineering means such as:

lining guards/panels with noise-dampening material
providing acoustic screens
lining the inside of hoppers with impact-deadening material
fitting anti-vibration mountings
fitting silencers to exhaust systems
ensuring good maintenance to stop rattles and prevent noise from wear

Duration of exposure can be reduced by job rotation or providing a noise refuge
Where noise exposure is between the lower exposure action value (EAV) and the upper exposure action value (UEAV), workers must be provided with hearing protection if they ask for it
Where noise levels still exceed 85dB(A), ensure workers wear hearing protection (earplugs or earmuffs) within the designated and clearly marked zones

Workers exposed to loud noise should have the opportunity to spend time away from the noisy environment and, wherever possible, lunch and rest breaks should be taken in quiet zones.

Find out more

Asbestos

Asbestos-related diseases kill more people than any other single work-related cause. All types of asbestos can be dangerous if disturbed.

Disposal of asbestos

Asbestos waste should be disposed of properly and in accordance with Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency requirements.

Following demolition and refurbishment work, asbestos debris can end up in waste disposal streams. This should take place in a properly controlled manner, through:

contractors using properly licensed transportation and disposal activities, or
civic amenity collection facilities for the general public

Your local authority can provide details of civic amenity sites that handle asbestos safely.

However, it is possible that incorrectly or illegally disposed of asbestos could be encountered in various waste streams, for example in skip-hire and waste transfer operations.

Operators of facilities where there is a potential to encounter asbestos waste should ensure their workforce have suitable asbestos awareness training to:

identify 'rogue' materials
ensure suitable safe systems of work are adhered to when asbestos waste is identified and has to be dealt with

Find out more

Health surveillance

Health surveillance is a requirement of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations where it is appropriate, and where it is identified as being necessary by a risk assessment.

It is also specifically required by some legislation, such as the Control of Noise at Work Regulations, where there is still a residual risk to workers’ health.

Health surveillance is used to identify occupational diseases such as occupational asthma, dermatitis, hearing loss and hand-arm vibration syndrome, or vibration white finger.

In the waste and recycling sector, these diseases typically occur where workers are:

likely to be exposed to noise levels
using vibrating tools or equipment
likely to be exposed to substances hazardous to health