High visibility workwear is ubiquitous across the waste industries and indeed just about everywhere else, but how did it originate?

The high-visibility vest arrived in Britain almost five decades ago.

It was invented by an American, Bob Switzer, whose ambitions of becoming a  doctor ended when he was injured in an industrial accident during the 1930s. While recuperating, he developed a fluorescent paint before fashioning the first item of high-visibility clothing from his wife’s wedding dress.

High-vis first came to the UK in 1964 when it was trialled by railway maintenance workers in Glasgow. The 1974 Health and Safety At Work Act and 1992’s Personal Protective Equipment At Work regulations – both of which required bosses to guard against potential industrial hazards – ensured its proliferation.

Perhaps now complacency coupled with the fact that we see hi-viz jackets just about everywhere, appropriate or not, reduces its impact but undoubtedly this simply but highly effective safety preventative has saved many lives.