Landfill Operations SWMS
SWMS template for landfill operations. Covers Working face, capping, gas wells.. 8-state AU coverage, CIH-reviewed editable DOCX, available as an instant download.
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Landfill operations covers the operation of a landfill — receiving, tipping, spreading and compacting waste using mobile heavy plant, and managing the landfill environment. The defining hazards are the mobile heavy plant such as compactors, dozers and loaders, the landfill gas (methane, which is flammable and an asphyxiant), the unstable tipping faces, and the traffic and dust. This document is written on the basis that landfill operations are carried out with the mobile-plant, landfill-gas, tipping-face and traffic controls in place.
Landfill operations are carried out in connection with the plant and general WHS requirements, with the mobile heavy plant operated safely and separated from workers, the landfill gas managed, the tipping faces kept stable, and the traffic and dust managed. The mobile plant, the landfill gas, the tipping faces, and the traffic and dust are the considerations. This document coordinates the mobile-plant, landfill-gas, tipping-face and traffic controls so the landfill operations are carried out safely.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Crush and run-over from the mobile heavy plant
Fire, explosion and asphyxiation from landfill gas
Engulfment and instability at unstable tipping faces
Collision from waste vehicles and public traffic
Respiratory exposure to dust from the landfill
Overturning of the mobile plant on uneven ground
Fire on the landfill from the waste and gas
Infection and exposure from biohazards and contamination
Crush from pedestrian and plant interaction
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: use the plant and equipment safely to the plant requirements and the manufacturer's instructions, with guarding in place, pre-operational checks, and the plant maintained.
- 2Administrative: manage landfill gas — methane, which is flammable and an asphyxiant — with monitoring, ventilation and ignition-source control, and manage dust, unstable tipping faces and fire.
- 3Engineering: keep the tipping faces stable, managing the tipping-face stability and engulfment hazard and the position of vehicles and plant at the face.
- 4Engineering: manage the traffic of waste vehicles and the public with traffic routes, separation and direction, and separate pedestrians and plant.
- 5Engineering: manage forklift and plant stability and tip-over with the load within the rated capacity, correct travel and load-handling, and no overloading, on firm level ground where practicable.
- 6Administrative: manage fire on the landfill with prevention, monitoring and response, and the biohazards and contamination with protection and hygiene.
- 7Engineering: separate pedestrians and powered mobile plant with designated traffic routes, exclusion zones, physical separation and a traffic management plan, because pedestrian and forklift or plant interaction is a leading cause of serious injury.
- 8Administrative: confirm the operations and plant are safe.
- 9Administrative: all workers must hold the competencies and licences required for the work, including a High Risk Work Licence for forklift operation, a heavy vehicle driver licence for heavy vehicles, and any dangerous goods or other training required.
- 10Administrative: conduct a pre-start toolbox talk covering the day's work, identified hazards, traffic and plant movements, required PPE and emergency procedures, and record attendance in the consultation section.
- 11Administrative: consult workers and any health and safety representatives on the work and its risks, record the consultation, and keep this document available at the workplace.
- 12PPE: high-visibility clothing, eye protection where required, gloves appropriate to the task, hearing protection where required, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 13Administrative: review and update this SWMS whenever the work scope changes, after any incident or near miss, when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, when new hazards are identified, or at minimum every 12 months.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Controls for the forklifts, conveyors, compactors, lifting and mobile plant used in the work, including guarding and safe operation.
Management of hazardous chemicals such as battery acid, dangerous goods and landfill gas, including safety data sheets and exposure controls.
The separation of pedestrians and powered mobile plant and vehicles, traffic routes and reversing controls.
The risk management process and hierarchy of controls applied to the hazards of the work.
Selection, fit testing and use of respiratory protection where dust, gas or chemical hazards require it.
Who this is for
- →Workers operating landfills.
- →Landfill and waste management operators.
- →Waste and landfill businesses and PCBUs.
- →Mobile plant operators on landfills.
- →PCBU safety managers and supervisors coordinating the mobile-plant, landfill-gas and tipping-face controls.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016 and newer, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
- ✓Title page with editable fields for PCBU name, ABN, site or depot address, task or route description, and document revision date.
- ✓Hazard register with the landfill operations hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Landfill prompts referencing the plant and hazardous chemicals Codes of Practice, a mobile-plant section, a landfill-gas section, and a tipping-face and traffic record.
- ✓Licensing and competency prompts for the forklift, heavy vehicle, dangerous goods and other work, and a plant pre-operational and inspection checklist where relevant.
- ✓Worker consultation record per the model WHS Act consultation duty and a worker sign-on register (blank, expandable).
- ✓Applicable legislation and Codes of Practice schedule pre-populated for the model WHS jurisdiction with a state-variance reference table covering the harmonised states, plus Victoria, and the Heavy Vehicle National Law where relevant.
- ✓Emergency procedure template and a revision log.
Worked example
Workers are engaged to operate a landfill. The mobile heavy plant — compactors, dozers and loaders — is operated safely to the plant requirements, with pre-operational checks and maintenance, and separated from workers. The landfill gas — methane, which is flammable and an asphyxiant — is managed with monitoring, ventilation and ignition-source control, and dust, unstable tipping faces and fire managed. The tipping faces are kept stable, managing the engulfment hazard and the position of vehicles and plant at the face. The traffic of waste vehicles and the public is managed with traffic routes, separation and direction, and pedestrians and plant separated. The plant stability and overturning are managed on the uneven ground. Fire on the landfill is managed with prevention, monitoring and response, and the biohazards and contamination with protection and hygiene. The operations and plant are confirmed safe, and the records retained.
Related legislation
- Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — the plant, hazardous manual tasks, hazardous chemicals and High Risk Work Licence provisions, and the Section 291 high risk construction work and SWMS duties where applicable, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
- The Heavy Vehicle National Law and the Chain of Responsibility, the National Transport Commission Load Restraint Guide 2018, and the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, apply to heavy vehicles and the transport of dangerous goods, alongside the model WHS framework, and are administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and the state and territory dangerous goods regulators.
- Forklift operation requires a High Risk Work Licence (LF or LO class) under each state and territory's licensing scheme, and heavy vehicle driving requires the appropriate heavy vehicle driver licence; dangerous goods drivers require dangerous goods licensing and training.
- Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the plant, manual handling, hazardous chemicals and high risk construction work provisions applying in place of the model instruments, alongside the Dangerous Goods Act 1985.
Frequently asked questions
What is the landfill gas hazard?
Landfill produces landfill gas, mainly methane, which is flammable and an asphyxiant, so it is managed with monitoring, ventilation and ignition-source control. The landfill gas is a defining hazard of landfill operations, managed to prevent fire, explosion and asphyxiation.
What is the main plant hazard?
The mobile heavy plant — compactors, dozers and loaders — presents a crush, run-over and overturning hazard, so it is operated safely to the plant requirements, separated from workers, and the stability and overturning managed on the uneven ground. The mobile heavy plant and its interaction with workers is a key hazard.
Why are tipping faces a hazard?
Tipping faces can be unstable and present an engulfment and instability hazard, so they are kept stable, managing the position of vehicles and plant at the face. Keeping the tipping faces stable manages the engulfment and instability hazard at the face.
How is traffic managed on a landfill?
The traffic of waste vehicles and the public is managed with traffic routes, separation and direction, and pedestrians and plant separated, because waste vehicles, plant and the public move around the landfill. Managing the traffic and the pedestrian-plant interaction controls the collision and run-over hazard.
Who operates landfills?
Landfill operations are carried out by competent workers in connection with the plant and general WHS requirements, with the mobile-plant, landfill-gas, tipping-face and traffic controls. The landfill is operated with the plant, gas and tipping faces managed.