Waste and recycling heavy vehicles do not operate like most other heavy vehicles. They work in suburban streets, construction sites, industrial estates, shopping centres, transfer stations and recycling facilities. They operate in confined areas, around pedestrians, parked cars and other plant, and often in poor light or early in the morning. They collect loads that can vary dramatically from one stop to the next and, in many cases, the driver has had little or no control over how that material has been placed into a bin, skip or other receptacle. These are some of the realities recognised in the Waste and Recycling Industry Code of Practice. Across August and September, the Waste Contractors & Recyclers Association of NSW & ACT (WCRA), in partnership with the Waste Recycling Industry Association Queensland (WRIQ), will deliver free training to help businesses understand the Code and apply it to their day-to-day operations.
The program is funded through a Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI) grant and will include face-to-face training in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, together with a comprehensive series of online courses.
The objective is not simply to tell businesses what is contained in the Code. It is to help operators, managers, supervisors, drivers and other workers understand what it means in practice.
A Code written for waste and recycling
The Waste and Recycling Industry Code of Practice was registered in June 2024 under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.
Importantly, it was developed specifically around the operating conditions of the waste and recycling sector.
Waste transport presents risks that do not always exist in conventional freight operations.
Waste can be deposited into receptacles by multiple people without supervision. Loads can contain unexpected or incompatible materials. Material can be unevenly distributed, poorly contained or difficult to restrain. Drivers regularly need to operate lifting equipment close to buildings, vehicles, pedestrians and overhead infrastructure.
The Code identifies eight broad areas of risk: injury to people from vehicle operations; collisions; fire and explosion; loads falling from vehicles; vehicle rollover during loading and unloading; damage to vehicles or plant; damage to infrastructure; and environmental harm.
Within those categories are many of the issues waste businesses encounter every day.
These include vulnerable road users and vehicle blind spots; reversing and working in confined locations; batteries, gas cylinders and other materials capable of causing fires or explosions; overloaded or unevenly distributed bins; liquid waste containment; overhead infrastructure; vehicle mass and dimensions; maintenance; and the suitability of vehicles and equipment for the task.
The training program will work through these risks from an operational perspective.
Load restraint is a major focus
One of the particularly practical elements of the Code is its treatment of load restraint.
Waste and recycling loads are not always straightforward.
Skips, hook-lift bins, front-lift bins, scrap metal, IBCs, liquid wastes and irregularly shaped materials all present different restraint and containment challenges.
The Code requires businesses to consider the physical characteristics of material being transported, the suitability of the vehicle and receptacle, the restraint equipment available, inspection of restraint equipment and the competency of drivers and loaders.
It also contains dedicated load restraint guidance for hook and dino loaders, skip loaders and front/rear-lift bins transported on flat-bed or crane trucks.
For operators, this is one of the areas where the training can deliver an immediate practical benefit.
It is not enough simply to have chains, straps or covers available. Businesses need to understand whether the restraint system being used is suitable for the particular load and vehicle, whether equipment remains serviceable and whether the people applying the restraint understand how it needs to be used.
Managing the operating environment
The Code also recognises that waste vehicles frequently operate in environments where conditions are far from ideal.
A collection point may have been designed without considering the access requirements of a heavy vehicle. Bins may have been moved. Cars may block an otherwise safe collection location. Construction activities may create new hazards. Low branches or overhead services may appear on a route that has been serviced safely for years.
Waste operations are dynamic.
The Code specifically recognises the need for businesses to manage changing conditions and provide drivers with systems to report and escalate new hazards.
This means safety cannot be managed solely through a static procedure written in an office.
Drivers need appropriate training and information, but they also need the ability to make decisions when circumstances in the field change.
The same principle applies to vehicle selection.
The Code recommends assessing site operating conditions, dispatching an appropriate vehicle, understanding required operating clearances and using measures such as cameras, collision detection systems and suitable lighting where appropriate.
More than a document
Another important part of the training will be helping businesses understand how to actually use the Code.
The Code sets out a practical risk-management process: identify hazards, assess the risks, select controls, implement and train, monitor and report on effectiveness, and periodically review the system and respond to new risks or incidents.
That is an important distinction.
The objective is not to take every control listed in the Code and turn it into another checklist.
Different businesses have different operations and different risk profiles.
A kerbside collection fleet will not have exactly the same controls as a skip operator, liquid waste transporter, scrap metal recycler or transfer station.
The Code provides guidance about known risks and practical controls, while recognising that businesses must determine what is reasonably practicable for their own operations.
The training will help businesses work through that process.
Free training across August and September
With funding provided through the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, WCRA and WRIQ are able to offer the training free of charge throughout August and September.
Face-to-face sessions will be delivered in Newcastle, Sydney, Shepparton, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Townsville and Brisbane.
A substantial webinar program will also run throughout both months, providing access for operators and workers who cannot attend one of the physical locations.
The online courses will be held on 7, 14, 19, 25 and 28 August, and 4, 11, 15, 18, 25 and 29 September.
For businesses, the free program provides an opportunity to involve people from across their operations — not only drivers, but supervisors, managers, schedulers and staff involved in loading, maintenance, safety and operational decision-making.
That is important because safer waste transport does not come from one person or one procedure.
It comes from understanding the risks associated with the work and making better decisions about vehicles, equipment, loads, collection points and operating practices.
The Waste and Recycling Industry Code of Practice gives the sector a framework to do that.
The next step is making sure people know how to use it.
Bookings for the free Waste and Recycling Industry Code of Practice training across August and September are available at www.wcra.com.au/training.