Somerset Waste Partnership is calling for greater respect for collection crews after a worker was left “bruised and battered” following an incident with a passing vehicle.
SWP said collections were disrupted in and around Nether Stowey near Bridgewater last week after an injured recycling loader was taken to hospital following the incident.
“The loader has since been discharged, bruised and battered but luckily with nothing broken, and is expected to be back at work in due course,” a spokesperson for the SWP said.
“Crews are advised, where necessary, to stop the collection truck temporarily in the centre of the road as a barrier”
Spokesperson
Somerset Waste Partnership
The loader is employed by the waste authority’s collections contractor Kier and the incident was reported to the police, the spokesperson confirmed.
According to SWP, crews are advised, where necessary, to stop the collection truck temporarily in the centre of the road as a barrier so other vehicles cannot pass. This is what the crew in Nether Stowey had done.
“As well as pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders passing by, the recycling loaders are moving heavy containers from both sides of the road, and hooking them to both sides of the truck for sorting materials by hand,” a statement by the partnership said.
SWP has urged motorists to respect the safety of working crews, and not to try passing waste vehicles that have positioned themselves in the road to avoid the risk of passing traffic to crews and other road users.
Weekly
Residents in Somerset currently receive weekly collections for recycling and food waste at the kerbside, and fortnightly collections of residual waste. They are asked to separate their recyclables for collection at the kerbside and the systems uses a green box for paper and a black box for cans, aerosols, plastic bottles and cardboard.
Concerns
In the past, some in the sector have raised concerns about health and safety issues surrounding the work involving in handling the source separated collections at the kerbside.
[gallery_placement]In 2009, a Welsh local authority suggested that commingled collections have in some circumstances been shown to be safer than kerbside sort, which requires collection crews to carry out more heavy lifting as well as exposing them to greater noise levels (see letsrecycle.com story)
Similarly, in 2013, waste management firm Veolia, warned that accidents on source separated collection rounds could lead to more lost working days than when materials are collected commingled (see letsrecycle.com story).
Meanwhile, incidents involving impatient drivers and collection crews on traditional rear-loading RCVs have also occurred in the past. In 2016, South Staffordshire council released footage of cars driving recklessly around waste vehicles as part of a campaign to promote safer behaviour “after a series of incidents involving motorists driving dangerously” (see letsrecycle.com story).
‘Be patient’
Commenting on last week’s incident, SWP managing director Mickey Green said: “We appeal for drivers to be patient, since the crews have an important job to do for local residents, they will only be a few minutes, and their regular rounds and predictable timing allow drivers to plan other routes.”
SWP is the waste authority for Mendip, Sedgemoor, South Somerset, Taunton Deane and West Somerset district councils.
Earlier this year SWP launched the procurement process to find a kerbside collection contractor to replace its current contractor Kier.
As part of the changes the partnership plans to expand its weekly collections from 2020 to include plastic pots, tubs and trays, beverage cartons, small electrical items and household batteries, while reducing rubbish frequency to once every three weeks.
The post Somerset recycling loader ‘bruised and battered’ appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
