Brampton Recycling Company Faces Stiff Fine After Worker Injured Permanently

Published July 12, 2017 at 10:53 pm

A major recycling company in Brampton has been fined heavily after one of their workers was injured almost two years ago on the job.

A major recycling company in Brampton has been fined heavily after one of their workers was injured almost two years ago on the job.

NexCycle Industries Ltd., the company that operates glass recycling facilities for Ontario’s municipal blue-box collection, deposit return program, and the Beer Store, is facing a $65,000 fine after a worker was injured by running machinery.

At 325 Orenda Road in Brampton, the industrial establishment employs workers to recycle beer bottles and cans. They also create bales of cardboard out of beer cases for recycling.

Almost two years ago, on November 3, 2015, a worker was trying to clear a cardboard jam in a baler, which is a machine that compresses recyclable materials like cardboard, paper, plastics, and metal into dense bales for easy storage and transport.

The worker didn’t lock out the machine before trying to clear the jam, and when they put a hand into the machine, their wrist became caught behind the ram, causing a permanent injury.

According to the Industrial Establishments Regulation, a machine with an exposed moving part that could endanger a worker must be guarded to prevent access to the moving part. With this in mind, the operator side of the baler was not properly guarded, which allowed access to the moving ram.

This was also an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.  

Justice of the Peace Darlene Florence imposed a fine of $65,000 in Brampton court on July 11, 2017.

The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

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