The new Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero campaign aims to eliminate avoidable collisions involving waste collection vehicles across the borough.

We’re launching a new safety campaign – Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero – to reduce the number of avoidable collisions related to waste collection to zero.

We’ll work together with every employee who delivers our waste and recycling collection service on a programme of engagement and enhanced training to improve the overall safety and quality of the service for residents and staff.

The waste collection industry is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK. Earlier this year, 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 collection vehicles were recorded in the past three years. Thankfully, none of these were fatal and the number of collisions across the borough is falling, with 16 incidents recorded this year compared to 22 in 2023 and 34 in 2022.

Through our Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero campaign, we’re aiming to reduce avoidable collisions related to waste and recycling collections across Barnsley to zero as we enter the most hazardous winter months.

Doing so will ensure employees are safe at work so they can go home safely at the end of the day, while also ensuring the safety of the public and their property and the provision of high-quality services to residents.

Matt O’Neill, Executive Director of Growth and Sustainability at Barnsley Council, said: “We know from the data that waste collection is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK. Therefore, it’s vitally important we work with our teams to accelerate our progress towards zero collisions to ensure the welfare of our employees and the public.

“Thanks to the hard work of our staff in waste and recycling collection, we have seen vehicle collisions related to waste collection reduce over the past few years. However, we simply believe that any avoidable collision is one too many.

“There are many risks involved in waste collection, not just vehicle collisions, as highlighted all too tragically by the death of a waste collection worker in Coventry. We want to make sure all our employees go home safely at the end of the day, and we're not prepared to risk the welfare of our employees or the public. That’s why we’re launching our Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero campaign.

“Achieving zero collisions across the year is an ambitious target. However, we have seen other councils make great progress against similarly ambitious targets and we are convinced that by working together with our dedicated waste and collection teams, we can reach Target Zero and keep everybody safe.”

Our focus on keeping people safe should enhance your service. The programme should not result in any change to the service residents receive, although you can help us keep everyone safe and keep waste collections flowing with five simple steps:  

• Park 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.

From December through to March, the annual winter training programme for employees will be run from the council’s waste and recycling depot, alongside a collaborative effort to improve ways of working and the overall safety and quality of collections as part of the Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero campaign.

From 23 December onwards, all employees in the waste and recycling collection teams will start and finish from the depot to improve health and safety and enhance employee welfare.

For more information about Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero visit www.barnsley.gov.uk/targetzero.