Injuries suffered by 2 Glasgow recycling workers 2 years ago have led to Viridor Waste Management being fined around £100,000. The incident occurred at the Bargeddie Waste Recycling and Transfer Station in September 2004, just months after Viridor were issued an official demand to improve procedures at the site. The company pleaded guilty to 2 charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, one of which related to an inappropriate traffic management system at the site, for which they were fined £66,700. A further fine of £33,300 came because Viridor had failed to comply with an improvement notice which was served in May 2004. The accident in September saw 2 workers in an unauthorised area of the site, who were then struck by a loading shovel causing serious fractures to their legs and pelvis.
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive in Scotland, said "This fine should send a signal to the industry that they have to put the right resources and investment into health and safety systems. The waste industry has a worse record than the construction industry in the number of injuries sustained, and these accidents are preventable."
In a separate incident, Viridor were fined a total of £3,414, following an injury to a worker at the Beddington Composting Plant in London in July of this year. The failure to conduct a risk assessment and carry out safety training resulted in the employee trapping their foot in a hydraulic trailer hook on the back of a tractor.
