News

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has this month launched a three month consultation on its new strategy "The Health and Safety System of Great Britain Be Part of the Solution", at events in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

The decision to develop a new strategy has been prompted by a range of factors, including: the recent slowing of improvement in Great Britain's health and safety performance; the changing industrial landscape with an increase in small businesses and the self-employed; the different risks posed by new sectors and the need to regain the health and safety brand from those who misuse it to proliferate bureaucracy and as an excuse for other things.

The strategy, which will reset the direction for health and safety, outlines a number of goals to be achieved, including:

• encouraging strong leadership and championing a common sense approach to health and safety;
• building the competence of those charged with delivering health and safety in workplaces;
• customising the support for small businesses to help them comply with their health and safety obligations;
• avoiding catastrophes in high hazard industries.

Speaking at the London launch, HSE chair Judith Hackitt said, "We are calling on all those involved in workplace health and safety - employers, self-employed, employees, trade unions, manufacturers, suppliers - to work with us on delivering these goals. We all share the same mission; to prevent death, injury and ill health in our workplaces, but the HSE and its local authority partners, as the regulators for health and safety, cannot do this alone. This is why we are seeking support and involvement from all stakeholders to be part of the solution."

The European Council of Ministers has adopted the revised Waste Framework Directive, a decision that means the UK will now be expected to reach a 50% household recycling rate by 2020. Directive 2008/98/EC, was published in the Official Journal on 22 November 2008, and the UK now has two years to implement it into law.

The Directive sets a revised framework for waste management in the EU, aimed at encouraging re-use and recycling of waste as well as simplifying current legislation. Its main requirement is the 50% target for household recycling and re-use and a 70% target for non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, both of which must be reached in the UK by 2020. It is these provisions which have aroused most controversy, and it remains unclear as to whether green and food waste will count towards the goal.

Alongside the recycling targets, the Directive also lays down the five-step hierarchy of waste management options, with waste prevention as the preferred option, followed by re-use, recycling, recovery and safe disposal, in descending order. As a result, it classes "energy efficient" incineration as recovery, in an attempt to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.

Elsewhere the Directive also deals with the issue of "end of waste", clarifies the definitions of recovery, disposal and by-product, defines the conditions for mixing hazardous waste, introduces an "environmental objective" and moves towards establishing minimum standards for waste management operations. In addition, it encourages the prevention of waste, by requiring Member States to design and implement waste prevention programmes.

The European Commission has this month issued proposed revisions to Directive 2002/96/EC, on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), which will significantly toughen the much maligned legislation by imposing recycling targets on IT and electrical equipment manufacturers and making them financially responsible for the household collection of electronic waste (eWaste).

The WEEE Directive was passed in 2003 and came into force in the UK in January 2007. However, it has been widely criticised by green groups as being unworkable, with manufacturers accused of failing to adequately publicise eWaste take back schemes, waste management criticised for illegally exporting old computers to scrap yards in the developing world and regulators slammed for failing to enforce the legislation.

As a result, the Commission has expressed concerns that the legislation is not proving effective and claims that only around a third of eWaste is being treated in accordance with the law. It is estimated in the EU that 54% of eWaste produced is being shipped to sub-standard treatment facilities, while the remaining 13% goes to landfill. It also claims that the illegal shipping of eWaste for handling in non-EU countries remains widespread. It is hoped the proposed strengthening of the Directive will give Member States greater powers of inspection and monitoring, whilst tightening registration and reporting requirements for producers and "encouraging" them to be financially responsible. A recycling target has also been proposed, that would require manufactures to collect annually 65% of the average weight of products placed on the market in the two preceding years.

These proposed revisions are now open for consultation ahead of an eventual vote on the changes in the European Parliament.

A company which owns a long-established laundry in Fakenham was this month ordered to pay more than £20,000 in fines and costs after admitting breaking rules on abstracting water.

Sunlight Services Group runs Fakenham Laundry, which employs about 150 people and cleans work clothes for a range of businesses around Norfolk. King’s Lynn magistrates heard that the company has a licence from the Environment Agency to abstract 200,000 cubic metres of water a year from the River Wensum, part of which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). However, the court was told that during 2007 the maximum daily limit was exceeded on four occasions which could have had an impact on the important wildlife area. This poor management also meant that on several occasions readings were not taken.

Sunlight Services admitted four offences under the Water Resources Act 1991 of exceeding maximum daily abstraction limits in a period between May and October 2007. They also pleaded guilty of failing to record readings of water abstracted. The company accepted the charges and stated there had been "no intentional or wilful neglect and it was an error on their behalf." Measures are now in place to improve data logging, including hour-by-hour readings.

SDLP South Antrim MLA Thomas Burns has this month revealed that only one person has been jailed for water pollution offences in Northern Ireland in the past five years, despite more than 11,000 pollution incidents and over £2m spent on investigations. However, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), which is responsible for protecting waterways said its record holds up well beside the independent Environmental Protection Agencies in the rest of the UK and pointed out that it is the judiciary that rules on fines and sentencing.

Nevertheless, Mr Burns said, "It cannot be denied that these shockingly high figures point to a scant disregard for the health of our public waterways. Destruction of our rivers and lakes should not be tolerated. Tough action is required and what type of message does it send out to offenders when there has only been one prison sentence. We have to take environmental crime seriously."

An NIEA spokesman retorted, "In cases where it is decided that a prosecution is appropriate, NIEA staff collect the necessary evidence and prepare a file which is submitted to the Public Prosecution Service with a recommendation for prosecution. However, not resting on its laurels, the NIEA has made several representations to the judiciary on the level of fines or sentencing and plans to highlight the seriousness and impact of pollution incidents to the Lord Chief Justice's Office at a future meeting."

The spokesman added, "We will continue to vigorously gather evidence and recommend prosecution where it is appropriate to do so. Recent successes in court, including fines of £6,000 and £5,000 for water pollution offences, including one for an incident in Mallusk, are clear examples of this."

Northern Ireland's antiquated water and sewerage infrastructure has received a much needed boost this month, with the news of various completed and on-going schemes. The schemes are the result of significant investment by Northern Ireland Water (NIW), which since 2007 has seen the official opening of 22 wastewater treatment works representing funding of over £146 million.

NIW has just completed work on the £1 million Strathfoyle siphon header tank, which is in close proximity to the River Foyle. The project is part of a £21.6 million investment programme to upgrade the existing sewerage network within the city through the construction of a new combined sewer overflow chamber, a new siphon header tank and storm storage tanks.

On 3 December, Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy officially opened a new £7 million wastewater treatment works in Glenstall, Ballymoney. The new state-of-the-art treatment facility is capable of treating wastewater flow from a population of approximately 40,650 in the area, and will result in a reduced carbon footprint and operational flexibility. It should also ensure that wastewater treatment in the area meets the latest European standards.

Finally, NIW has announced they will invest over £9 million in Dungannon to improve water and wastewater services in the area. The decision was highlighted at the Dungannon Borough Council's meeting, and relates to a number of schemes that are already underway or planned to commence within this financial year. The investment programme will bring significant benefits to the local community and economy and meets the needs of the growing population. The work will include the reconstruction of Benurb and Milltown wastewater treatment works, the upgrade of Castlecaulfield wastewater treatment works and various water mains improvement schemes.