While there were fewer injuries and illnesses involving waste-collection employees in the United States, those who toil in landfills and recycling facilities are experiencing an uptick in incidents.
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The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) cites U.S. government statistics that found the injury and illness rate in the industry generally dropped from 7.6 to 5.2 per 100 full-time employees in 2016. That’s the lowest level in more than a decade. But the rate for employees who work at landfills increased to 4.9 from the previous level of 3.5. SWANA says that’s consistent with a spike in fatal incidents at landfills in the United States during 2016.
SWANA Executive Director and CEO David Biderman called the increase troubling and said the organization will continue to assist by providing useful safety resources.
Although the decline in the waste-collection worker injury rate signals a move in the right direction, SWANA identified at least 13 fatal collection incidents in the United States through October 2017.
SWANA plans to roll out new safety initiatives in 2018 to better protect public and private sector employees. To learn more visit https://swana.org/safety.aspx.