Peter Frankish

Health, safety and the environment are something Peter Frankish lives and breathes every day of his working life.

Whether it’s devising ways of minimising the risk of accidents, ensuring compliance with environmental legislation or looking at quality management systems, there’s always something to keep him occupied.

Peter is our Head of Risk Management, overseeing a team of five people tasked with areas such as transport compliance, health and safety management, environmental compliance, quality management and insurance.

When he first joined Yorwaste back in 2002 he had a team of one, himself, but the growth of the company has necessitated an investment to ensure that the safety of all personnel remains the number 1 priority of the business.

Peter started off his working life as an industrial chemist, having studied chemistry at University, before undertaking a degree in Environmental Science with the Open University. He worked in his home area of Teesside for a large steel company, initially being responsible for areas such as monitoring emissions in the air and effluent in rivers, before taking roles as Environmental Engineer and then Health and Safety Advisor.

His father ran his own skip business, which Peter worked in, so he knew a little about waste management before joining Yorwaste. Now in his 17th year with the company, he has witnessed many changes.

Peter says: “When I started the company was very much landfill oriented, but now it is all about the recycling and recovery of waste, which is obviously much better for the environment.

“Health and safety have always been important given the industry we are working in, but now it’s in focus more than it ever has been.

“In many ways Yorwaste is leading the way when it comes to health, safety and the environment.

We introduced the Yorsafety initiative which is about making everyone aware of their personal responsibilities when it comes to health and safety.

“During 2018 we won a bronze award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in recognition of our excellent health and safety performance; and a national award from MRW for the best health and safety initiative.

“And during this year we will be rolling out a new “Lifesavers” safety initiative and a behavioural safety programme.”

Peter and his team are this year also working toward further embedding the safety and compliance culture across the organisation, as well as seeking to achieve ISO45001 accreditation for Yorwaste’s health and safety systems.

Outside of work, Peter enjoys spending time with his partner Andrea and their two children. When he finds time away from the children, his hobbies include restoring and riding vintage motorbikes and fishing.