The Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH) has updated its Covid-19 safety advice for the waste sector.

WISH released the first version of its Covid-19 guidance document for the waste sector on 2 April, which sits alongside separate Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health England (PHE) advice, and was compiled with input from these bodies, as well as the waste industry itself.

The updated guidance notes that a number of employers in the waste sector have installed Perspex or similar screens in their workplaces and vehicles in an attempt to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Though the guidance states that screens ‘may reduce, to an extent’ the risk from projected particles produced when someone coughs, it notes that there is ‘little evidence currently that they are effective in preventing the spread of viruses’.

Where employers do choose to install screens, WISH’s guidance states they should be subject to the same hygiene and cleaning regimes as other equipment, and that employees should be instructed on the limitations of screens in preventing virus transmission.

WISH also advises that risk assessments on whether screens adversely affect safety systems and whether employees develop overreliance on screens to the detriment of other more effective controls such as social distancing or good hygiene should be carried out.

Specific advice on the installation of screens in materials recycling facilities (MRFs) and in the cabs of refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) is also included in the guidance.

Updated cleaning and hygiene advice centres on regularly cleaning shared facilities such as toilets and showers, including door handles and ‘touch surfaces’, placing workwear in washable or disposable laundry bags to prevent cross-contamination between workwear items, and that wearing gloves is ‘no substitute’ for good hygiene and hand washing (for 20 seconds with warm, soapy water) – though glove use is mandatory during work.

The latest advice also points to various pieces of government advice, including: guidance released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on reporting Covid-19 cases under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations); social distancing in the workplace guidance released by Defra on 7 April; the relaxation of waste storage limits at permitted sites by the Environment Agency (EA); and advice from Public Health England (PHE) for employers and businesses on keeping staff safe during the pandemic.

Further updates to the guidance are expected next week, which WISH said could not be included in the current version due to time constraints.