Over the past year, six people – three working in the waste sector and three members of the public – suffered fatal injuries, according to Health and Safety Executive statistics.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show the fatal injury rate in the waste sector is 3.29 per 100,000 workers, which is around 8.2 times the all industry rate. Only the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector are higher.
53% of fatalities in the waste sector were due to being struck by a moving vehicle, 16% struck by falling or flying object, and 11% by electrocution.
1,530 non-fatal injuries to employees were reported by employers in 2024/25. Slips, trips or falls accounted for 41% of these accidents, followed by falls from height (18%), and struck by moving objects (13%).
73% of these injuries led to the person being incapacitated and unable to work for over seven days.
Around 3.7% of people working in the sector sustained a non-fatal injury between 2017/18-2024/25, the highest rate of any sector in the UK. The all-industry average is 1.7%.
44% of non-fatal injuries were public sector employers and 56% were from the private sector. The public sector is estimated to account for around 33% of employment in the sector.
The rate of employer reported non-fatal injuries showed a downward trend, with signs of flattening out in more recent years. However, HSE cautioned that reporting is known to be incomplete and said this may be distorting the trend.