Dive Brief:
- The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has launched a 'Safety Matters' webpage to provide SWANA members and other industry professionals with current safety news, safety materials, and information on upcoming safety events.
- Content includes information on SWANA’s safety initiatives, as well as its chapter-wide Safety Ambassador program and Slow Down to Get Around decal distribution. Visitors to the page, which will expand over coming months, can also tap into direct links to resources such as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
- The Safety Matters webpage is sponsored by Intelivert, who also offers a cloud-based Workforce Safety and Management System.
Dive Insight:
Safety in the solid waste management industry continues to be a major concern and priority, and for good reason. In 2014, there were 4,679 fatal work injuries in the U.S. — a 2% increase over 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2016 has already seen its first garbage collector fatality, just two weeks into the new year.
Organizations who work on setting the industry standards are trying to reverse the trend; later this month, the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) is hosting an event to introduce truck backing safety protocols, supported by trade associations from three states, SWANA, and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
"There’s lots of work to be done to get the waste collection industry off the list of top 10 most dangerous jobs in the U.S.," said SWANA Executive Director and CEO David Biderman. "With our Safety Matters webpage, our goal is to provide the helpful and necessary resources to contribute to reducing accidents and injuries in the industry, in both the United States and Canada. Nothing we do is more important."
