SPR,
Follow a wagon around your neighbourhood and see for yourself - best way to see what really goes on!

Also don't forget the landfill tip / waste transfer station / waste recycling centre etc. part of the equation.

The waste uindustry has a lot more to it than just kerbside collection. Think waste trasfer stations and sorting stations, landfill sites, energy from waste and others - every part of the waste industry is hazardous. Throw in lots of vehicle movements, and workforce which is largely low paid and which may be low skilled - and you can see why the waste industry, in general, has a high accident rate. IMHO.

Having had a little experience of this in a former life, the biggest hazards I noted were:

Vehicle movement; working alongside / around moving telehandlers, forklifts, wagons, terex's, etc.

'product' contamination; it may for example be a plastics recycling box, but be aware of broken glass, metals and other such sharps.

As others have alluded to, low skilled workforce with little/no knowledge or concept of safety, combined with a very macho ethos amongst the workforce.

crushers / shredders; I've seen some unbelievably stupid manoeuvres to free up compacted waste in a shredder.

conveyor systems; heavily relied on for waste sorting - moving parts, worn belts, damaged components - all provide catch-points to draw someone in.

noise; very noisy environment

biological hazards; there are some very VERY dirty people out there who think it ok to leave inappropriate presents in their recycled waste.

Alan

Good points from AlanD76.

Did insurance surveys in the past for a firm that insured a lot of waste processing sites. We dealt with a couple of fatalities where people had entered a baler unit to free up a blockage and the compaction cycle started up. Full Lock Out Tag Out procedures are an absolute must.

Slips and trips cause a lot of accidents - especially if large parts of the process are in the open. Think very muddy yards, worn steps on plant and fly waste scattered about.

Work at height can be an issue when working on top of vehicles, e.g. sheeting arrangements.

The low paid workforce will frequently find dangerous workarounds and shortcuts, e.g. entering skips, plant etc. Strong supervision is critical to manage that.

Fire risk. The number of fire losses within this industry is extremely high and once the waste is alight, nothing will save it. Can be an issue if you have high level conveyor sorting lines or people working at high level on automated sorting plant. Consider the protection of exit routes and ensure there are multiple routes of escape.

All good and relevant comments (particularly from AlanD76) - amongst the main concerns within this industry is (mentioned a few times) workplace transport (segregation of pedestrians and vehicles).

I would also add individuals health, Asthmatics, possible presence of bioaerosols, ensure annual occupational health surveillance is undertaken.

Hygiene again as someone has mentioned, is very important with this types of work, with the possibility of vermin around such waste material - Leptospirosis (Weils Disease).

Peter Gotch mentioned the HSE WISH web site very useful guidance and information.

some links below for reference

http://www.waste-managem...-dangerous-business.html

http://www.hseni.gov.uk/waste15.pdf

http://www.letsrecycle.c...-nine-deaths-in-12-weeks

And lets not forget the old favourite Asbestos, a lot of garages and garden buildings had asbestos roofing.