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Man suffers serious arm injuries in incident at Viridor recycling facility

A Viridor employee at a Manchester recycling centre has suffered horrific injuries his arm after an incident on Sunday evening (13 August).

Man suffers serious arm injuries in incident at Viridor recycling facilityThe 29-year-old man was working on the conveyor belt at the waste management company’s Sharston materials recovery facility (MRF) in Wythenshaw at around 11pm on Sunday evening when he got his arm caught in the machinery.

The man was rushed to hospital and is now in a serious but stable condition, his injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Local press have reported that the man lost his arm in the incident.

Commenting on the matter, a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokesperson said: “We were called at 11.15pm to reports of a work-based accident involving a conveyor belt. Emergency services were called and the man was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his arm. A joint police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation has been launched and remains ongoing.”

A HSE spokesperson added: “HSE is aware of an incident and is investigating.” The MRF at the site has been closed until the investigation is concluded.

A spokesperson for the waste and recycling company said: “Viridor can confirm an incident took place at 11pm on Sunday, 13 August, involving a 29-year-old employee at the Longley Lane Materials Recycling Facility. The employee was taken straight to hospital following the incident.

“Viridor takes the safety and wellbeing of its employees very seriously and is co-operating fully with Greater Manchester Police and the Health and Safety Executive.”

The waste sector has come to be known as one of the most dangerous industries to work in in recent years, with statistics released by the HSE back in July revealing that deaths in the sector had more than doubled from six to fourteen in 2016/17.

Sunday’s incident follows the tragic news that a man was killed in an explosion on the site of Innovative Environmental Solutions in Oldbury, the West Midlands last Wednesday (9 August).

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