Sector statutory inspections

Statutory Inspections for Waste & Recycling

LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH LEV compliance from one independent inspection body.

Waste and recycling carries one of the worst fatal injury rates of any British industry, and HSE's own analysis points at the machinery: poorly guarded equipment and interventions made while it could still move. The baler that jams is the scenario the guidance was written around.

SEIS examines the lifting fleet and inspects the processing plant with guarding and isolation at the centre of the record.

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  • Independent & impartial
  • Competent engineer surveyors
  • Reports issued promptly
Highest tier
Fatal injury rates among the worst of any UK sector
12-monthly
Grab cranes, hook lifts and material handlers
Isolation
Stored energy is the recurring factor in machinery deaths
Before reuse
Repaired plant is examined before it returns to service

Waste site cover

  • MRFs, transfer stations and scrap yards
  • Skip hire and collection fleets
  • Processing plant and mobile plant together
  • Examinations around tipping and processing windows
What needs inspecting

What needs inspecting on a waste site

Two regimes divide the yard. LOLER takes everything that lifts: grab cranes, hook lifts, skip loaders and the truck fleet. PUWER takes the processing line, where guarding, isolation and safe intervention arrangements are what the inspection actually interrogates, because that is where this sector's deaths happen.

EquipmentRegimeStatutory positionWhat you receive
Grab cranes and material handlersLOLERThorough examination at least every 12 monthsReport of Thorough Examination
Skip loaders and hook liftsLOLEREvery 12 months as lorry mounted lifting equipmentReport of Thorough Examination
Wheeled loaders and 360s used for liftingLOLERThorough examination where used for object handlingReport of Thorough Examination
Grabs, chains and lifting attachmentsLOLEREvery 6 months as lifting accessoriesReport of Thorough Examination
Balers and compactorsPUWERRisk-based intervals with guarding, interlocks and isolation central to the inspectionWritten record of inspection
Shredders, trommels and picking line conveyorsPUWERRisk-based intervals set from deterioration and useWritten record of inspection
Fork lift trucksLOLEREvery 12 months, with attachments every 6Report of Thorough Examination
Air receivers and compressed airPSSRWritten Scheme of Examination, report within 28 daysWritten Scheme certification and examination report
Picking station dust and fume LEVCOSHHThorough examination and test at least every 14 monthsLEV test report to HSG258

Processing plant under PUWER generates a written inspection record and nothing called a certificate. Plant repaired after damage is examined before it goes back to work, not at the next calendar date.

Sector compliance

Where this sector's risk actually lives

HSE's machinery guidance for waste and recycling was written off the back of a death toll, including eleven killed in baling machines in the recovered paper trade over one fourteen year span. The pattern repeats: a blockage, an intervention, and a machine that could still move.

The baler, the jam and the record

A PUWER inspection on a baler or compactor is only worth having if it interrogates the things that kill: fixed guards in place and secured, interlocks working and unbypassed, isolation that actually dissipates stored hydraulic energy, and access arrangements that make the safe intervention the easy one.

That is what our written record covers, item by item, because a generic tick sheet that never opens the guard question would not have prevented a single one of the incidents the guidance catalogues.

How SEIS works a waste site

Mobile plant and the processing line are examined in one programme built around tipping windows and processing shifts, with night work routine on continuous sites. The grab crane's 12 month cycle, the attachments' 6 month cycle and the baler's risk-based interval land in one calendar.

Defects are graded and walked through with the site manager before we leave, and anything on fire-damaged or repaired plant is re-examined before reuse. Reports sit in the client portal per asset, ready for permit, insurer or EA-adjacent audits.

Related services
Lorry mounted crane examinationsHook lifts, skip loaders and loader cranes Fork lift truck examinationsLOLER and PUWER covered in one examination PUWER inspection servicesGuarding-led inspections for processing plant LOLER regulations explainedIntervals, accessories and mobile plant duties
Common questions

Waste & Recycling inspection FAQs

What kind of waste operations do you cover?

Materials recovery facilities, transfer stations, scrap and metal recyclers, skip hire operations, composting sites and energy from waste support plant, nationwide.

How quickly can you attend?

Usually within a few working days, worked around tipping and processing windows, with night visits routine on continuous sites. Call 0330 043 8191 with the site list.

How often does the grab crane need examining?

At least every 12 months as lifting equipment, with the grab itself and any chains every 6 months as accessories. The full interval framework is in our LOLER guide.

Are our balers and compactors covered by LOLER?

No, they process rather than lift, so they sit under PUWER: risk-based inspection intervals with a written record, and with guarding, interlocks and isolation at the centre of what is checked. HSE's machinery guidance for the sector is at hse.gov.uk.

Does a 360 excavator need a thorough examination?

When it is used for lifting, handling suspended loads or object handling with a grab, yes. Machines used purely for excavation sit under PUWER, and many yard machines genuinely do both, so we set the position per machine with you.

What happens after a machine is repaired or fire damaged?

It is examined before it returns to service, whatever the calendar says. Deterioration and repair are exactly the exceptional circumstances the regulations name.

Do skip lorries need anything beyond the MOT?

Yes. The hook lift or skip loader gear is lorry mounted lifting equipment on a 12 month thorough examination cycle, entirely separate from the vehicle's roadworthiness testing.

Can you inspect the picking line without stopping it for a day?

Usually. Conveyors and picking stations are inspected in sections around shift patterns, and the LEV serving the stations is tested in the same visit on its 14 month cycle.

Book statutory inspections for your Waste & Recycling operation

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