Waste Transfer Station Operations SWMS
SWMS template for waste transfer station operations. Covers Tip floor management, loaders, compaction.. 8-state AU coverage, CIH-reviewed editable DOCX, available as an instant download.
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Waste transfer station operations covers the operation of a waste transfer station — receiving waste from the public and vehicles, and tipping, sorting and transferring it, often into a pit or bins for onward transport. The defining hazards are the mobile plant, public vehicles and pedestrians interacting on the tipping floor, the fall from the tipping edge into the pit, the dust and fire, and the manual handling. This document is written on the basis that waste transfer station operations are carried out with the traffic, fall-from-edge, dust and manual-handling controls in place.
Waste transfer station operations are carried out in connection with the plant and general WHS requirements, with the mobile plant, public vehicles and pedestrians managed on the tipping floor, falls from the tipping edge into the pit prevented, the dust and fire managed, and the manual handling managed. The traffic on the tipping floor, the fall from the edge, the dust and fire, and the manual handling are the considerations. This document coordinates the traffic, fall-from-edge, dust and manual-handling controls so the waste transfer station operations are carried out safely.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Crush and collision from plant, public vehicles and pedestrians on the tipping floor
Falls from the tipping edge into the pit
Respiratory exposure to dust from the waste
Fire in the accumulated waste
Musculoskeletal injury handling waste and bins
Injury to and from members of the public on the tipping floor
Infection and exposure from biohazards and contamination
Fire, exposure and injury from hazardous and prohibited items
Crush and injury from the plant loading and transfer
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Engineering: manage the mobile plant, public vehicles and pedestrians on the tipping floor with separation, traffic management, designated areas and supervision of the public.
- 2Engineering: prevent falls from the tipping edge into the pit with edge protection, barriers and a safe tipping arrangement.
- 3Engineering: manage the dust from the waste with suppression and respiratory protection, and manage fire in the waste with prevention, monitoring and response.
- 4Engineering: use mechanical aids — trolleys, dollies, stair-climbers, pallet jacks and lifting equipment — and team lifting for the heavy and awkward loads, and manage the manual-handling and awkward-posture hazard with correct technique and the hierarchy of controls for hazardous manual tasks.
- 5Administrative: manage members of the public on the tipping floor with supervision, signage and separation from the plant and edge.
- 6PPE: protect against sharps, biohazards and contamination in mixed waste with cut-resistant gloves, the appropriate protection and a sharps and needlestick procedure, and hygiene and washing facilities.
- 7Administrative: identify and manage hazardous and prohibited items in the waste with a procedure, and manage the plant loading and transfer operations safely.
- 8Administrative: 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.
- 9Administrative: 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.
- 10Administrative: 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.
- 11PPE: 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.
- 12Administrative: 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.
The separation of pedestrians and powered mobile plant and vehicles, traffic routes and reversing controls.
The control of the manual handling and awkward postures of the work, including heavy and awkward loads, bins and items.
Management of hazardous chemicals such as battery acid, dangerous goods and landfill gas, including safety data sheets and exposure controls.
Selection, fit testing and use of respiratory protection where dust, gas or chemical hazards require it.
Who this is for
- →Workers operating waste transfer stations.
- →Waste transfer and management operators.
- →Waste businesses and PCBUs.
- →Transfer station and plant operators.
- →PCBU safety managers and supervisors coordinating the traffic, fall-from-edge and dust 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 waste transfer station operations hazards — each with a documented consequence, inherent risk rating on a 5x5 likelihood-consequence matrix, hierarchy-of-control measures, and residual risk rating.
- ✓Transfer station prompts referencing the plant and traffic Codes of Practice, a tipping-floor traffic section, a fall-from-edge section, and a dust, fire and public 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 waste transfer station. The mobile plant, public vehicles and pedestrians on the tipping floor are managed with separation, traffic management, designated areas and supervision of the public. Falls from the tipping edge into the pit are prevented with edge protection, barriers and a safe tipping arrangement. The dust from the waste is managed with suppression and respiratory protection, and fire in the waste managed with prevention, monitoring and response. The manual handling of waste and bins is managed with mechanical aids and correct technique. Members of the public on the tipping floor are managed with supervision, signage and separation from the plant and edge. The biohazards and contamination are managed with protection and hygiene. Hazardous and prohibited items in the waste are identified and managed with a procedure, and the plant loading and transfer operations managed safely. The operations are carried out safely, 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 main hazard on the tipping floor?
The mobile plant, public vehicles and pedestrians interact on the tipping floor, presenting a crush and collision hazard, so they are managed with separation, traffic management, designated areas and supervision of the public. Managing the traffic and the public on the tipping floor is a defining hazard of transfer station operations.
What is the fall hazard at a transfer station?
Waste is often tipped into a pit, presenting a fall-from-the-edge hazard, so falls from the tipping edge into the pit are prevented with edge protection, barriers and a safe tipping arrangement. Preventing falls from the tipping edge into the pit is a key control at a transfer station.
How are members of the public managed?
Members of the public on the tipping floor are managed with supervision, signage and separation from the plant and edge, because the public bring waste to the transfer station. Managing the public, and separating them from the plant and the edge, controls the crush, collision and fall hazards for the public.
What about hazardous items in the waste?
Hazardous and prohibited items in the waste are identified and managed with a procedure, because they can cause fire, exposure and injury, and fire in the waste is managed with prevention, monitoring and response. Identifying hazardous items and managing fire controls the fire and exposure risk.
Who operates waste transfer stations?
Waste transfer station operations are carried out by competent workers in connection with the plant and general WHS requirements, with the traffic, fall-from-edge, dust and manual-handling controls. The transfer station is operated with the tipping floor traffic and the fall hazard managed.