Health and Safety in Waste Management

One-day conference to define, explore and focus on key themes in WISH Forum Strategy Blueprint

IN a bid to cut incidents in the waste and recycling sector by 10% year on year, and to reduce the number of fatalities to zero, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum have recently launched a new health and safety document, the WISH Forum Strategy Blueprint.

Next month, letsrecycle.com, in association with the Organics Recycling Group, is to hold a one-day conference to define, explore and focus on the key themes within the Blueprint, and to find ways to overcome some of the challenges the waste and recycling industry faces in health, safety and employee welfare.

The event, which will take place on 26 September at Bredbury Hall, Stockport, promises delegates a highly practical programme with a range of leading industry expert speakers from all areas in the waste and recycling sector.

Key speakers and topics will include:

• ‘WISH Forum Strategy Blueprint: an overview’, by Chris Jones, chair of the WISH Forum;
• ‘What is safety leadership and how do you assess it?’, by Paul Stokes, head of safety, health, environment and quality with FCC Environment;
• ‘Building competence and training’, by Katie Milford, EUSR manager with the Energy and Utility Skills Academy;
• ‘An analysis of fatal accidents in the waste-management industry’, by Geoff Smallwood, UK health and safety manager with Shanks; and
• ‘Health surveillance: devising and implementing’, by Susan Relf, compliance director with Agrivert.

Explaining the need for the seminar, Chris Jones, chair of the WISH Forum, said: ‘It is very easy to say what we hope the Strategy will achieve, and that is a reduction in the appalling rate of injury and ill-health and death associated with the industry.

‘We need to continue the work, up our game and maintain our momentum. We need to continue to establish and share best practice. And we need to continue to share the safety performance of the industry.’

For further information/registration, visit: www.regonline.com/HSConference2013