New Earth Solutions was yesterday fined £80,000 following the death of a worker at its former Blaise Farm in-vessel composting site in Kent.
Maidstone Crown Court heard how Neville Watson, an industrial cleaner employed by the waste business, was asphyxiated under a pile of waste at the site on 9 August 2014. The HSE said that the pile of material ‘appeared to be over eight metres high’.
An aerial view of New Earth’s former Blaise Farm IVC facility, where Neville Watson died in August 2014
The 39-year-old father of two had been working close to the pile of material, after connecting a shredder to a loading shovel he was driving, when the waste pile collapsed on top of him.
Following an investigation into the incident the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) claimed that Mr Watson had never carried out the task before.
Failure
HSE also reported that the company had failed to undertake and prepare risk assessments or safe systems of work for creation and management of the waste stockpiles. Inspectors also concluded that no adequate training had been put in place at the time of the incident.
Guy Widdowson, inspector at HSE, said: “The request for Mr Watson to carry out the shredding operation was made without any form of structured training being in place.
“The company failed to ensure that Mr Watson was supervised by an employee trained in the task he was carrying out, particularly in light of the fact that he had never carried out the task before.”
New Earth, which pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £38,373.
Inside the Blaise Farm IVC plant
Administration
In sentencing the firm, the judge indicated that New Earth would have been fined between £600,000 and £1.3 million if it was not in administration.
The Dorset-based waste business was placed in administration in June 2016.
While its former assets, including the Blaise site, have since been sold by DM Opco to Irish firm Panda Waste, the company itself remains under the control of the appointed administrators Duff & Phelps.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Duff & Phelps would not comment on the sentencing but confirmed the fine would be considered alongside New Earth’s existing creditors.
The post New Earth fined for asphyxiation of worker at Kent site appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
