ASM Metal Recycling Penalized £657,885 for Worker Protection Failures

A metal recycling company has been fined over £650,000 for its failure to implement effective control measures designed to protect its employees. This penalty follows a routine inspection conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at ASM Metal Recycling’s premises on Griffin Lane in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. During an August 2023 visit, HSE inspector Emma Page observed that workers engaged in sorting waste lacked sufficient protection from reversing lorries through barriers. The company, which also operates four other sites, including locations in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, admitted guilt to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act at a hearing held at Oxford Magistrates Court on 22 October. Ms. Page’s visit included recording video footage of a red skip lorry backing up past three pedestrian workers, who were wearing yellow high-visibility sleeveless jackets and sorting waste in the yard. At one point, two of these workers had their backs turned to the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) as it continued to reverse. The HSE stated that this “reveals there are no measures, such as barriers, to prevent the reversing vehicle coming into contact with and causing injury, or worse, to the workers”. A subsequent investigation indicated that ASM Metal Recycling Ltd had previously identified the risks associated with pedestrian-vehicle collisions but had failed to implement effective control measures to prevent such incidents. The HSE had previously issued enforcement notices to ASM Metal Recycling Ltd in 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018. Additionally, Notification of Contravention letters were sent to the company in 2021 and 2023. ASM Metal Recycling Ltd, located at 55 Station Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, was fined £657,885 and ordered to pay £5,885 in costs at Oxford Magistrates Court. Following the hearing, Ms. Page commented: “The scrap and metal recycling industry has consistently had a poor fatal incident rate for many years.“The most serious risk associated with manually sorting waste is a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian. On average, there are around five fatalities each year in the waste industry, with nearly half of these relating to being struck by a moving vehicle”. News coverage for Beds, Herts, and Bucks is available from BBC on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC states it is not responsible for the content of external sites and provides information on its approach to external linking.