Waste and recycling event focuses on safety blueprint

Safety & Health Practitioner

Health and safety professionals in the waste and recycling industry will gather in Stockport, Cheshire today to consider the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum’s strategy blueprint for reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured in the sector. 

 

Supported by the HSE and WISH, the fourth interactive health and safety in waste management conference will define, explore and find ways to overcome some of the major challenges the sector faces in health, safety and employee welfare. 

 

WISH includes representatives from the HSE, the main trade associations, professional associations, trade unions, recycling organisations and national and local government bodies and was set up to improve health and safety standards in what is one of the UK’s most dangerous industry sectors.

 

The forum has been working on a blueprint for better risk management since February and in June published its final plan, which focuses on 24 immediate action points that fall under five strategic themes. 

 

The event will explore each of the blueprint themes in detail and will provide practical guidance on the application of these on a range of waste management sites.  

 

Industry experts will discuss the key issues, including competence and training, worker engagement, health surveillance and safety leadership. 

 

“Following the launch of the roadmap in June people from across the industry have come together to form working groups under each of the five key strategy headings and, as will be described at the conference, a good start has been made,” said Chris Jones, chair of the WISH Forum. 

 

“We now need to build on that good start and develop momentum toward producing the guidance which the industry says it wants, and the industry accident statistics say it needs.”