The HSE recently revealed details of the prohibition notices which were served on the Scottish local authority in January 2023 for failings at its Bartonholm household waste recycling centre in Irvine. These concerned machinery guarding and a failure to maintain two gantries meaning people could fall through them.
Compoman compactor
The first notice called on the council to cease use of its Compoman compactor machine. HSE said there was inadequate guarding on the machine “allowing persons to access dangerous parts of the machine whilst it is in operation. One of the machinery interlocks on the side door of the machine is inoperative and there is inadequate guarding on the side of the machine in that a fixing is missing from the panel.”
Skip bay gantries
The other two notices concerned a failure to maintain gantries at two skip bays.
The HSE said of a gantry at the garden waste skip bay there was “evidence of corrosion which could lead to structural failure. You have failed to maintain the gantry in good repair and persons could fall through it.”
North Ayrshire was told that its scrap metal skip bay similarly had not been maintained and persons could fall through.
North Ayrshire
A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council told letsrecycle.com: “The Council puts health and safety at the forefront of all services, and the issues raised were remedied prior to the site opening the next day.
“In relation to machinery safeguarding, on January 21 the guarding door was secured.
“In relation to the entry gantries at the waste skip, following the HSE visit two gantries at the site were removed from service.
“And the Household Waste and Recycling Centre Supervision will carry out a review of site traffic management signage and ground markings.”
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