A recycling firm has been fined £180,000 and ordered to pay £38,000 costs after worker Paul McGuire, 33, was crushed to death in a baling machine.

Swindon Crown Court today heard how Mr McGuire was left alone to operate the baler at the Kingshill Recycling Centre in Cricklade without any training.

Today at Swindon Crown Court SITA UK Ltd of Maidenhead, which owns the centre, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The court heard how material being fed into the baler became jammed and Mr McGuire attempted to clear it.

The blockage had occurred at the top of a conveyor and Mr McGuire climbed up the conveyor but then fell into the hopper of the baler when he was attempting to clear the blockage.

The baler had not been isolated and locked off before attempts to clear the blockage and so Mr McGuire was killed by the mechanism of the baler after falling into the chamber.

Andrew Kingscott, prinicipal inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, which brought the prosecution, said after the hearing: “When it comes to ensuring that no-one is exposed to unnecessary risks, all employers have a duty to provide to provide a safe workplace, maintain safe systems of work ensure the safety of their workers, contractors and members of the public.

“In this case, the company failed to ensure that the plant was safe and that written safe working practices were relevant, clear and understood by site staff.”

He added: “Additionally, management and supervision were not adequate and did not ensure that blockages were handled in a safely controlled manner.”

He said Mr McGuire’s death should serve as a warning to all recycling centres.

“The waste recycling industry has one of the highest incident rates of fatal and serious accidents of all industry types,” he said.

“HSE are working closely with the industry to reduce the unacceptably high levels of injury by continuing proactive inspections as part of a national campaign known as ‘safe interventions’ and by continually updating the free literature on the waste management section of the HSE website. It is important that all risks are adequately assessed and controlled in all areas of recycling.

There needs to be robust and effective controls to ensure that blockages can be cleared in a safe manner.

“Steps should be taken to minimize the potential for blockages including the pre-sorting of material being fed into the baler.

Where a blockage occurs, work to clear it should only be undertaken under a written system of work, backed up by a full permit to work system.

“It is important that the machinery is both isolated and locked off from the power source and that any stored energy is released before work to clear the blockage starts.

Anyone operating a baler and associated equipment should be trained, authorised and aware ofconversant with the correct procedures to clear blockages.

“Furthermore, all work should be appropriately supervised to and particular attention needs to be given to the potential for falls when unblocking or maintaining plant.

For example, fixed safe access platforms should be provided where there is a routine need for working at height.

“The implementation of these measures and observation of the appropriate health and safety guidance by responsible employers should go a long way to reducing the number of incidents in the waste recycling sector, particularly the kind of horrific accident which claimed Paul McGuire's life.”

An inquest into Mr McGuire’s death in April last year concluded that he died by misadventure. Speaking afterwards Mr McGuire’s wife Sophie said she was relieved at the verdict.

“No words really can describe the way I feel about the verdict that was given today," she said.

“If that machine had been in the condition it is in now, Paul would not have died.

“Paul played a big part in many people's lives and it's left a huge gap, which we will never be able to fill. I can only hope that with time, his parents will heal and be able to cope with not having him around. I will never get over it.

“It was something that should not have happened and it could have been prevented.”