Death of five men highlights danger of injury at recycling sites
- Jul 7, 2016
- EmmaArnold
Five men were crushed to death after a recycling site wall collapsed yesterday.
The employees were working to recover scrap metal when the accident happened and they were sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The Health and Safety Executive attended the scene and an investigation is underway.
Scrap metal was supported by the 15ft high structure made from concrete blocks which landed on top of the workers.
The same company, Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Ltd, was fined £50,000 after a worker's arm became trapped in machinery in 2012.
Earlier on this year, 700 tonnes of scrap metal went up in flames at the same recycling plant which processes more than 500,000 tonnes of metal each year.
Richard Edwards, Senior Solicitor at PotterReesDolan, said:
This awful accident is yet another example something going terribly wrong in the recycling industry with devastating consequences. I have raised this issue before and I’m very sorry to be writing about it again. I hope the HSE can carry out their investigation quickly so that those effected can get answers about what has gone wrong.
The dangers of the recycling industry is something we have covered in the past. Our client, Philip Grace, lost his right hand when it was severed in a conveyor belt at the recycling plant where he worked.
Read Richard's blog on the problem of fatalities and serious injuries in the waste and recycling industry and his interview on Radio 5 Live about the topic.