ESA health and safety report calls to raise standards across waste sector

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) has launched a new health and safety report looking into the contrasting performance across the industry.

The data shows that ESA members’ health and safety performance has improved dramatically since the launch of its Accident Reduction Charter in 2004 – with an 86% reduction in injuries over that period.

Analysis of HSE’s corresponding injury data shows that, year on year, this level of injury reduction is simply not being matched by others in the industry.

The report makes recommendations to raise health and safety standards across the whole of the waste sector and to spread best practice as widely as possible.

Sobering reading

ESA’s Policy Advisor, Stephen Freeland said the Health and Safety Executive’s injury statistics for the waste industry ‘continue to make for rather sobering reading’

He said: “What is perhaps less obvious from analysis of these statistics is the wide variation that exists within the waste industry, with some elements clearly performing better than others.

“ESA Members have achieved a significant reduction in injuries over recent years and our injury rate now stands at 577 (per 100,000 employees) which is three times lower than the injury rate reported by HSE for the waste industry as a whole (1801).

“ESA’s new health and safety report aims to bring this contrasting performance to the fore and offers a number of recommendations to ensure resources are targeted, and best practice widely disseminated, to ensure that everyone in the industry is working to the same high standards.”

• Read the full report here

Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders

In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.

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