We here at Kompakt follow the UK recycling machinery news quite avidly to see what is going on and it really shocks us to see how many tragic injuries take place.
It’s often not the fault of the machinery, but of those operating it, when accidents occur. Either through direct ignorance of the machine’s dangers, or through a lack of training and coordination.
Earlier this summer, a kitten was found inside some heavy recycling machinery at a plant in Rainham. Miraculously, the kitten was found alive and well, after site supervisor, Daniel Coker, heard distressed cat noises from inside the material separator.
Coker said: “I can’t quite believe he survived – what a lucky escape. The machinery was pretty heavy duty so it was quite some miracle. There was nothing I could do when I heard the cat’s cries from inside, but then he popped out the other end on the conveyor belt in between blocks of metal – stressed but unhurt.”
The workers named the brave kitten Stig, after Stig of the Dump, and called the RSPCA to help him find a loving home.
It’s unknown how Stig ended up in the machine, but it’s most likely he was sleeping in some rubbish and ended up being taken for collection. It’s thought to be unlikely that he walked into the plant and entered the machinery willingly.
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In August 2014, a recycling plant in Ireland found several parts of a human body inside recycling machinery, including a leg, pelvis and arm. There were many theories as to how the body parts ended up in there, with un-incinerated medical waste, a homeless person sleeping in a bin and a deliberate disposal after a murder coming up as ideas.
The story got even weirder when the skull was found containing screws from neurosurgery, and the body was found to have died up to five days before being discovered in parts, in the recycling machinery.
Five months later, the man had been identified as Mark Burke, 36, and that his body had been dismembered before ending up at the recycling plant, pointing police to believe he was murdered.
In June, Ireland’s Crimestoppers unit put out a plea for information to find the killer of the father of seven. They found out that Mark had been homeless, and either spending his time sleeping on the streets, or staying in a seaside hostel. This case is still open and being actively investigated.
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Another man to suffer the indignity of being found inside recycling machinery was Karlis Pavasars. Karlis was working at the recycling plant when he fell inside an industrial shredder which was not properly safeguarded. The incident was horrific, with his body being totally destroyed, and his DNA having to be confirmed from his toothbrush.
The recycling firm involved were heavily criticised for many factors, including poor training efforts and risk assessment. Mr Pavasars was seeing lying motionless on the conveyor belt before being fed into the shredder.
The father of two from Peterborough’s death was ruled as accidental, and his family will receive damages.