Health and Safety Policy — Kensington Skip Hire

Kensington Skip Hire is committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of all employees, contractors, visitors and members of the public affected by our rubbish collection and skip hire operations. Our policy sets out obligations and practical arrangements that govern safe working across our waste removal and skip hire service. We aim to prevent work-related injury and ill health through active management, risk control and continual improvement, and we will allocate sufficient resources to achieve these goals.

This policy applies throughout our rubbish company service area and to all activities that fall under our control including skip delivery and collection, site clearance, waste transport, on-site waste handling and transfer, and customer site operations where we supply skips. It covers all forms of waste management and rubbish removal activity undertaken by our staff or by sub-contractors engaged to support our skip hire and waste disposal services.

Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. The directorate retains overall accountability for health and safety performance and will ensure legal compliance and robust governance. Managers and supervisors are responsible for day-to-day implementation of safe systems of work, ensuring operatives are competent, and that risk assessments and method statements are prepared and followed. Drivers and site operatives must follow safe operating procedures, use provided personal protective equipment, and report hazards and incidents without delay.

Risk Assessment and Control Measures

We identify hazards and assess risks for all tasks connected to our skip hire and rubbish removal services. Hazard categories include manual handling, vehicle movements, working at height, contact with hazardous waste, fire risk, and environmental contamination. Risk assessments are documented, reviewed regularly and updated when work patterns change. Control measures follow the hierarchy of control: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Key safety measures include:

• Provision and mandatory use of appropriate PPE including gloves, hi-vis, safety footwear and eye protection;
• Safe vehicle operation policies, seat belt enforcement and pre-use vehicle inspections;
• Strict segregation and handling protocols for hazardous or potentially harmful waste and contaminated loads;
• Traffic management on customer sites to protect operatives and the public;
• Procedures for skip siting, secure loading and safe manual handling to minimise musculoskeletal injury.

We maintain written safe systems of work and permit arrangements where required. All operatives receive site-specific briefings and toolbox talks. Training includes manual handling, hazardous waste awareness, vehicle safety, and emergency procedures. Competence is assessed and recorded, and additional training is provided when new equipment or processes are introduced.

Operational Controls and Emergency Preparedness

Operational control measures extend across skip placement, loading standards and waste transportation. Skips shall be sited to avoid public hazards, with access routes kept clear. Loads are checked to ensure no prohibited items are present and that weight limits are not exceeded. Our rubbish removal vehicles are maintained to a high standard with scheduled inspections and servicing to prevent breakdowns and safety incidents while in the service area.

Incident management and emergency response are integral to our policy. First aid provision, emergency contact arrangements and clear reporting procedures are in place. All incidents, near misses and environmental spills are reported, investigated and documented to identify root causes and corrective actions. We emphasise learning from events and communicating lessons across the organisation to reduce recurrence.

Monitoring, review and continual improvement ensure the policy remains effective. Performance is monitored via audits, inspections and key performance indicators for safety, waste handling and vehicle operations. We conduct periodic reviews of risk assessments, safety procedures and training needs. Strong governance drives corrective actions, and senior management will review this policy at least annually or following significant change. Everyone working for or on behalf of Kensington Skip Hire is expected to support the policy and contribute to a safe working environment for our rubbish collection, skip hire and waste management activities.