A member of the public drew my attention to the fact that the public cannot wash their hands at the local waste transfer station. It would seem sensible that they can wash their hands after dropping off their rubbish for recycling, and general disposal. The station in question takes batteries (all types), florescent lamps, electrical items, plastic bottles, tin cans, glass bottles, and general rubbish. What do you think? Should there be hand washing facilities in place? What happens at your waste transfer station? Can the public wash and dry their hands?

Shouldn't be a problem for Joe Public - after all, they probably didn't wash their hands when loading up their car, and won't clean it out after they've dropped their waste. More of an issue for your staff, and one on which I have done a lot of work in the waste sectors - clinical waste mainly. I guess you are implying that your staff have hand washing facilities somewhere on site, presumably in the hut they use as a staff room, kitchen, etc etc. It is not accessible to the public. But that hut is not the place to wash hands for anyone since the area will itself become contaminated. Staff take their gloves off for a cup of tea, smoke, sandwich, whatever, and put them down on the canteen table. They might even wash their hands and all too often its the same sink that is used to wash the mugs. And it's filthy! You get the picture! Would be good to check the arrangements for your staff - not your question, I know - and then cover yourself by having a modest supply of alcohol hand rub for those members of the public that ask for it. Don't use hand rub for your staff, they need good gloves, glove use, and soap and water. They also need to be reminded not to take their gloves off, wash their hands, then carry their gloves with them as they go to eat lunch. That is a very common mistake. Alcohol hand rub - don't forget those with religous objections to alcohol but there is no obligation to provide an alternative if they are not your employees, contractors etc - has only poor activity on dirty hands and will not provide an ideal solution, but it may just avoid criticism and adverse publicity. Ian

Firstly, alcohol gel is quickly inactivated by inorganic soil, so this would probably not be a sensible solution. In any event, is there really a problem that the site operator should be concerning themselves with? If the public are handling objects that are contaminated, then it is their responsibility to protect themselves, e.g. by wearing gloves. Given that many people do not even wash their hands having used a public toilet, would the facility even be used? When I think of our own local site, with the inevitable long queues on summer week-ends, I hardly think that providing washing facilities - presumably away from the bays so that these are not occupied for longer than necessary - will be a viable proposition. Chris

Appologies for the double posting. Not my fault. When I tried to post I got a response that I could not post for 28 seconds. I waited this time, then posted, only to find that the system had posted twice. Chris

I use my recycling centre a lot as it is reasonably close by. I am not aware of any hand washing facilities, although the staff are very good and may well let me use theirs if I really needed to. But guess what? I usually take a pair of gloves!