THE cost of accidents involving council bin lorries in the last three years topped more than £260,000, the Chronicle has learned.
There have been 72 separate incidents involving bin lorry collisions across the borough - with the total cost being £264,474.
Some 16 have been reported this year, compared with 22 last year and 34 in 2022.
The news has triggered the launch of a rigorous health and safety campaign by the council which insists while the number of collisions is falling, even one is one too many.
The council’s ‘Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero’ campaign aims to reduce avoidable collisions relating to waste and recycling collections to zero.
And while the council says the campaign should not impact the collection service, Matt O’Neill, executive director of growth and sustainability, admitted it was necessary.
He added: “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.”
From this month through to March, the annual winter training programme will run from the council’s Smithies depot.
The programme comes after an inquiry found the death of a council waste collector in Coventry, who became entangled in lifting equipment in January 2023, was a ‘foreseeable’ accident.
Matt added: “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.
“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 zero and keep everybody safe.”
