Worker's leg amputated after being run over at waste sorting site

Volunteers sort waste at the recycling centre, at the Glastonbury Festival, at Worthy Farm in Somerset. All waste on site is sorted into recycling groups by volunteers working 5-hour shifts, in a process that will take up to three weeks to clean up the whole farm.
A waste worker who was sorting out recyclable material was run over by a telehandler. Credit: PA

A waste worker's leg had to be amputated after he was run over by a telehandler while working at a waste transfer site.

His employer, Eco Waste and Recycling Limited, has now been fined £30,000 by a court.

The worker, who was 51 at the time, was sorting recyclable materials by hand when he was struck from behind by a reversing telehandler.

The man's right leg had to be amputated from above the knee.

The incident happened at the company's waste transfer site on Hullocks Pit Hill in Newnham, Hertfordshire on 16 March, last year.

The Health and Safety Executive found Eco Waste and Recycling Limited failed to properly separate vehicles and pedestrians at its site and failed to act quickly on the findings of risk assessments.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Adam Johnson said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided. Segregation measures should have been in place between vehicles and pedestrians.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those that fall below the required standards.”

At St Albans Magistrates Court, the company pleaded guilty to breaching workplace health and safety laws.

It was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £3,102.50 in costs on 4 May.

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