Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero is our initiative to improve safety and reduce waste collection vehicle collisions across Barnsley to a target of zero, and keep our staff and the public safe.
We want to make sure all our employees go home safe at the end of the day, and we aren’t prepared to be complacent and risk the welfare of our employees or the public.
The waste collection industry is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK. While the number of waste collisions that happen in Barnsley are declining thanks to the hard work of our staff, every avoidable collision is one too many. That’s why this initiative is doubling down on our efforts to reduce the number of collisions related to waste and recycling collections to zero.
Why we've launched Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero
In April 2024 an inquiry found that the death of a council waste collector in Coventry, who became entangled in lifting equipment in January 2023, was a 'foreseeable' accident.
In Barnsley, 72 collisions involving our waste collection vehicles were recorded between January 2022 and November 2024. None of these were fatal, and the number of collisions across the borough is falling. 16 collisions were recorded between January and November 2024, compared to 22 during 2023 and 34 in 2022.
We've implemented a target of zero collisions to ensure the safety of our employees and the public.
What this means for our employees
We're delivering updated training and support for our waste and recycling team from our main depot, to embed appropriate practices across our workforce and enhance safety and quality for both our employees and the public. There are no changes to people's contracts.
To help us deliver against our target of zero collisions, our collection operatives will start and end their shifts at our main depot. This means we can make sure that:
- all team members are okay
- we have wellbeing checks with them
- they all use the correct and safe PPE and equipment
- they can have regular debriefings with their managers
Health and safety training for our employees
Our employees have always been trained to work safely. The Be Safe, Work Safe programme has been running for years, and people's commitment to this and our training programme has reduced collisions. However, we believe that any collision is one too many.
We have lots of health and safety training with employees. However, like every industry, safety standards evolve, and we want to keep up with best practices and keep our people and the public safe. As part of annual training, from December through to March, a winter training programme for employees is run from our waste and recycling depot.
Meeting our target
Our vision to reach zero collisions is a realistic target, based on a standard that we know other local authorities have already achieved.
What you can do to help keep everyone safe
- Parking considerately - leave room for waste vehicles to get through safely.
- Make sure your bin lid is safely closed - overflowing bins can lead to waste falling out and can be difficult to load onto our vehicles.
- Don't overfill your bin - the lifting mechanism on our wagons has a maximum weight limit of 50kg. If it's too heavy to move easily, it's probably too heavy.
- Remove any bin liners from the lip of the bin – this reduces the risk of waste getting stuck when the bin is tipped into the vehicle.
- Leave your bin with the handles facing the road – this makes it as quick and easy as possible for our crews to safely empty your bin and keep the service flowing. Ideally, leave it close to your neighbour's bin.
