The south Yorkshire authority said its new ‘Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero’ campaign aimed to reduce the number of avoidable collisions related to waste collection to zero.

All employees in the council’s waste and recycling collection service will receive ‘a programme of engagement and enhanced training’.

The council said none of the 72 collisions in the past three years were fatal, and that the number had been falling – with 16 incidents this year compared to 22 in 2023 and 34 in 2022.

Executive director of growth and sustainability Matt O’Neill said: ‘Achieving zero collisions across the year is an ambitious target.

‘However, we have seen other councils make great progress against similarly ambitious targets and we are convinced that by working together with our dedicated waste and collection teams, we can reach Target Zero and keep everybody safe.’

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