News

The new environment minister Edwin Poots has said he will consider introducing a levy on plastic bags in shops in Northern Ireland. This follows news this month that the Welsh Assembly have announced proposals which could see shops charge up to 15p for a single use plastic bag.

Shops and supermarkets in Northern Ireland currently encourage people not to use plastic bags, but it is a voluntary arrangement. Mr Poots said if this arrangement was not working, he would start making people pay for the bags.

Spar announced in July that a number of its stores in Northern Ireland would begin a three-month trial scheme of charging 5p for regular plastic bags. Asda will only hand out bags on request, resulting in a 50% reduction over the past six months. Tesco and Sainsbury reward their customers who do not use plastic bags with loyalty points. Marks and Spencer already charge customers 5p for bags.

Over in the Republic of Ireland, a 15% levy has seen a 90% reduction in the number of plastic bags being used. Mr Poots said he will initially consider a similar levy in Northern Ireland at the end of July.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has issued a consultation on proposals to introduce a "more effective" approach to enforcing environmental regulations in England and Wales. The three-month consultation launched on 21 July, entitled "Proposals for fairer and better environmental enforcement", outlines moves which would see the the Environment Agency impose civil sanctions, including fixed penalty notices for offences where prosecution may not be the most effective remedy.

This would alter the way waste management and recycling companies are reprimanded for offences such as failing to submit monitoring data, and comes as part of plans to allow regulators more flexibility to respond in ways that are "proportionate to the seriousness of non-compliance." Changes to the way environment crime is enforced would affect businesses in the sector, as well as landowners, occupiers, public sector groups and also regulators and the justice system.

The proposals would build on existing, limited civil sanctions being used by the Agency under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008, and will allow them to impose sanctions in accordance with their own enforcement policy and detailed guidance. The consultation will close on 14 October 2009, and seeks views on a number of approaches based around the application of different sanctions, from monetary fines to a range of enforcement notices.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has met with the country's new environment minister, Edwin Poots, to brief him on work that it claims needs to be done in waste management.

On 1 July, the first day in his new role, Mr Poots, who previously held the position of culture secretary, said he looked to cover "the spectrum of significant issues" covered by his role as environment minister and claimed there was "much work to be done" in the field of waste management. The minister explained that this would also involve assessing the role that could be played by energy-from-waste in the country's long term waste management strategy.

Speaking after the briefing, Mr Poots said, "We face heavy financial penalties in the future if we do not hit these targets so it is incumbent on me to ensure that everything practicable is done to deliver a robust waste management strategy."

Mr Poots replaces the much maligned climate change sceptic Sammy Wilson, who had held the post from June 2008 and has now become minister of finance and personnel. In addition to meeting with the NIEA, Mr Poots also met with the Planning Service, the Planning and Environmental Policy Group, Local Government Policy Division, the Driver and Vehicle Agency and the Road Safety Division.

A construction company is being prosecuted over the death of one its workmen in an incident involving a forklift truck in February 2008.

Graham Construction faces four charges connected to an incident at an apartment block development at the former Ormeau Bakery site in Belfast. A decision to bring a prosecution was taken following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) .

The Dromore-based company has been accused of failing to provide a safe work environment and, if convicted, could face an unlimited fine.

The death of the 52-year-old victim was the second such Irish construction site death in a single day. The other man was fatally injured after he got trapped under the wheel of a vehicle while working on a building site at Dublin Airport. It is understood the man was initially struck by a small bulldozer on the apron of the runway at the front of the old terminal building.

For more information see:

• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2000/388.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its finalised strategy for the health and safety system of Great Britain. The document sets 10 broad goals for improvements, including reinforcing worker involvement, reducing catastrophic incidents, supporting better safety performance by small businesses, increasing competence, leadership and sensible risk management in the workplace. It also commits the HSE and local authorities to maintain appropriate levels of enforcement.

The HSE has stressed that the strategy's function is not just to steer its own work in the next few years but also to provide a focus for employers and employee bodies and other stakeholders, who are invited to sign a pledge to help achieve its aims. The 22 signatories so far include the TUC, confederation of British Industry, Corus and Royal Mail Group. At the launch, HSE chair Judith Hackitt said the HSE will soon publish its own delivery plan for the strategy's first year. She said the plan will follow the line of "evolution not revolution" and will include new initiatives to promote workplace training in "softer" health and safety skills.

However, campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) has dismissed the HSE's strategy as "nothing new." FACK, which represents the families of people killed in work accidents said it had to fight to be included in the consultation on the strategy, the outcome of which is a "severe disappointment."

For more information on FACK visit www.fack.org.uk.

Omagh based company PFG Plant Hire Ltd have been fined a total of £33,466 this month, after pleading guilty at Dungannon Crown Court to two breaches of health and safety legislation.

The case relates to an incident that occurred on 25 January 2008 on a construction site in Fintona, County Tyrone. Mr Oliver Rutledge, a lorry driver employed by PFG Plant Hire, died when part of a wall he was demolishing fell on him. Another employee escaped with minor injuries. Subsequent enquiries by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) revealed that the company had not completed a sufficient risk assessment, or developed an adequate safe system of work for their employees.

After the hearing, Kevin Campbell, investigating inspector with the HSE NI said, "It is vital that all companies properly identify and address hazards within the workplace and implement systems to minimise and control risks. These systems need to be communicated to the workforce, implemented, maintained and updated where necessary."

For more information, see:

• Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1978/1039.