The problem of fatalities and serious injuries in the waste and recycling industry

Growing up, recycling to me meant one thing: hand-me-downs. The youngest of two brothers I got the discarded, worn and tired cast-offs whilst my brother got the snazzy new gear. My other sibling, a younger sister, was spared the ignominy by virtue of being the only female child. So I was the unfortunate one of the three and how they enjoyed it.

Now recycling of almost everything is a global industry. In India, for instance, rubbish is a valuable commodity, especially for the poorest in society. I visited the Subcontinent in 2006 and vividly recall how on arrival I was immediately overwhelmed by the sight of the road – through which I was being nervously transported – teeming chaotically with every manner of vehicle from horse-drawn carts through to lorries and everything in between; most were overloaded and all were madly jockeying for position with drivers relentlessly honking their horns.

In the midst of all this now and then I recall that I would see a cart lugging a staggeringly gigantic load of tightly bound used plastics, loosely wrapped in grubby white tarpaulin- looking like a giant dirty snowball. Dwarfed below his catch, the impoverished worn-out plastic collector pulled his goods navigating his way precariously through the mayhem. My taxi driver informed me the man pulling the cart would sell the plastics for a pittance, thus providing his means of survival. One can only imagine the dangers posed by such work, not only the perils of the journey I had witnessed, but of sifting through contaminated waste on landfill sites mining for scraps to sell on.

You may believe that here, in a developed economy, with a sophisticated workforce and safety conscious responsible employers, work in the recycling and waste industry would be a fairly safe occupation. Whilst undoubtedly workers here won’t be confronted by the hazards faced by the world’s poorest such as those I have described, waste and recycling work here is nevertheless classed as a high risk industry by the Health and Safety Executive. The statistics tell a sorry tale indeed.

Although the industry accounts for only about 0.6% of employees in Britain it produces 2.8% of reported injuries. Last year, 12 workers lost their lives and 3 members of the public perished too. The fatal injury rate per 100,000 workers is 8.2 which compares poorly with the equivalent rate in the construction industry of 1.9. A similar pattern is found in the rates for major injuries which stand at 369.8 per 100,000 in the waste and recycling industry, 239.4 in agriculture and 156 in construction. The figures for what is known as ‘over seven day injuries’ (those which lead to a period of absence from work of more than seven consecutive days) paint a bleak picture too. In agriculture the rate per 100,000 employees is 324.3 and in construction it’s 255.4; in waste and recycling the rate is a shocking 1,422.1.

In my own case load I presently act for several clients who have suffered very serious injuries whilst working at recycling plants. This includes one who lost a hand and two others, both of whom suffered serious spinal fractures and one of those also suffered a severe head injury. Often I hear a common theme of safety procedures being neglected to speed up production.

Like most people I worry about climate change and I’m concerned about the environment. I welcome therefore public drives to get people to recycle. As the industry needed to process the waste grows, however- and activity grew at 5% between August 2012 and 2013- it appears corners are being cut and the lives of some workers are being ruined as a consequence. This must be addressed and quickly.

I fear, however, that the chances of things improving in the near future are slim. If anything the statistics are only likely to get worse, given the direction of current government policy. I’ll explain why. First, we have the enactment of the Enterprise Act 2013. The effect of s.69 of this is to deprive injured workers of the right to sue their employers on the basis of a breach of health and safety regulations alone. In practical terms this means bringing a claim will be harder and the incentive for employers to comply with the regulations is thereby reduced.

Second, the general trend of government policy is towards measures that are viewed as business friendly. For Mr Cameron the stated economic objective is to win, or at least keep up with, what he calls the ‘global race’. The Prime Minister undoubtedly believes worker’s rights can get in the way of this. Like a race horse dealt a heavy penalty by the handicappers, weights in the jockey’s saddle, if discarded, allow the horse to run faster. Likewise discard workers rights and watch the economy grow is the theory underlying some aspects of economic policy.

Close observers may have noticed that when Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, paid a visit recently, high on David Cameron’s wish list of areas where he wants to see reform in the EU concerned reducing ‘red tape’ on business. On current form I fear this may well become a euphemism for something more ominous so far as worker’s rights are concerned. Please don’t misunderstand me here, all sensible people would agree that a strong economy brings benefits for all, including of course in jobs. This should not, however, come at the cost of hard won safety measures that have proved successful in protecting workers from preventable injury.

So, as the recycling industry cranks up the pressure to meet EU, central and local government targets the question is: from where will the pressure come to improve this lamentable safety record?

Richard Edwards is a Senior Solicitor with PotterReesDolan.