A Guide to the Role of Proximity Warning Systems at a Waste Centre

As another recycling company faces a multi-million pound fine following a fatal accident at its site, it is essential to highlight once again the safety risks workers face at waste and recycling centres.

The latest incident resulted in the death of an agency worker after being hit by a loading shovel. The victim had needed to walk across a traffic area where equipment and vehicles were operating when a loading shovel struck and killed him. The company was fined £2.15 million, with The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspector stating that the man’s death could have been avoided had the company employed measures to separate pedestrians and vehicles, such as implementing alternative traffic routes.

This and other similar incidents provide a stark reminder of the severe dangers waste and recycling workers face every day. Unfortunately, this type of incident is far from isolated. In 2021, the HSE issued a safety bulletin in response to a series of incidents involving shovel loaders, a high proportion of which were within the waste and recycling sector. Over four years, there were nine fatal accidents involving shovel loaders, with six happening at waste and recycling sites. The HSE bulletin recommendations included “rigorous segregation between pedestrians and vehicles” and a review of the site layout to include barriers and one-way systems to support total segregation.

Heavy machinery and movement of plant equipment alongside pedestrians are common features at waste and recycling centres, and it’s clear that despite improvements in safety protocols, more needs to be done to protect workers. HSE fatal accident figures show six fatal accidents in the sector during 2022/23, and non-fatal accident numbers increased from the previous year. 2022/23 saw 1,509 reported non-fatal accidents, an increase of almost 200 from 2020/21. Figures like these and the continuing frequency of serious events leave the sector very much in the safety spotlight, but what can businesses do to make their sites safe?

Close Proximity Working Solution

The key to preventing accidents of this kind is segregation. Although total segregation is continually recommended, it is rarely implemented successfully. Zonesafe Proximity Warning systems make this possible without having to free up space for separate routes, offering waste and recycling centres a highly flexible and cost-effective solution to addressing the threat of vehicle/pedestrian collisions. The intelligent system creates a line of communication that quickly alerts both drivers and pedestrians of impending risk, stopping accidents before they take place.

Vehicles are fitted with an antenna/proximity sensor, creating an invisible 360-degree adjustable detection zone, much like a safety bubble around the vehicle. Pedestrians are assigned small wearable tags worn on their person. When a tagged pedestrian breaches the detection zone around the vehicle, both driver and pedestrian are alerted to danger, immediately raising situational awareness.

The ZoneSafe control unit is fitted to the vehicle next to the driver and provides an audible, visual alarm to the driver. At the same time, the pedestrian tags vibrate, warning the wearer of the approaching vehicle. This dual system adds a highly reliable line of defence in worker protection, helping to ensure terrible accidents like the one discussed above don’t happen.

ZoneSafe proximity warning technology can be applied site-wide for a complete safety solution, functioning as a standalone system or combined with other products in the ZoneSafe portfolio, including sensor-activated warning signs.

Whilst in action, ZoneSafe collects live data, providing crucial insight into overall site safety and allowing businesses to take a more proactive approach, identifying risk areas before accidents occur.

ZoneSafe in Action

ZoneSafe has been working with businesses within the waste and recycling sector for many years, helping to improve site safety and address the risk of pedestrian/vehicle collisions. Don’t just take it from us – our customers have seen the impact of ZoneSafe at their workplaces.

When glass recycling company Recresco installed ZoneSafe at its Cwmbran and Ellesmere Port facilities, the company saw a dramatic improvement in site safety.

“ZoneSafe has improved our onsite safety 100%”, Kevin Edwards, Recresco

Watch the Recresco Video case study 

Are you ready to invest in safety?

Contact ZoneSafe to discuss your waste and recycling site safety concerns:

+44 (0)1202 868000

sales@zonesafe.com