The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has announced its concern of a recent report released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses. For the waste and recycling industry, the BLS report, “2014 Workplace Injury and Illness Data,” shows that the injury and illness rate for solid waste collection employees (562,111) increased by about 10 percent, to 7.1 per 100 full-time employees. This rate is the highest for this category since 2008.
Similarly, says SWANA, the injury and illness rate for material recovery facility (MRF) employees (56,292) is 8.4 per 100 full-time employees, continuing a significant rise from several years ago (2011 data is available here). The injury and illness rate for landfill employees declined from 5.3 to 4.9, continuing a steady slide in numbers from landfills for nearly a decade.
“The news for the waste and recycling industry isn’t good,” SWANA says in a news release.
Adds SWANA CEO David Biderman, “The increase in the injury rate for collection employees to levels not seen since 2008 is alarming, and the high injury rate for employees at recycling facilities also remains a concern. Too many workers are getting hurt, in spite of increased attention being paid to safety by some employers and the ongoing introduction of new safety-related equipment and programs.”
Biderman continues, “SWANA will continue to expand the safety resources it makes available to the industry to help reduce injuries and get the waste collection industry off the federal government’s list of 10 most dangerous jobs. Nothing we do is more important.”
The BLS report on injuries and illness follows data released by the BLS more than one month ago that showed safety problems persist for waste and recycling industries. The “2014 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary” showed that refuse and recyclable material collectors, as a category ranked fifth among American workers, with a total of 27 fatalities, is down from 33 in 2013.
The only occupations with higher fatality rates, according to the report, were: logging workers; fishers and related fishing workers; aircraft pilots and flight engineers; and roofers. Despite the 2014 decrease in waste and recycling industry fatalities, the fatality rate rose from 33 to 35.8 per 100,000 workers for the year, as the sector employed fewer overall people in 2014.
SWANA says in addition to advancing awareness of this life-and-death issue, the association provides safety webinars and classroom-based learning. According to Jesse Maxwell, the advocacy and eLearning program manager for SWANA, “an excellent example of SWANA’s education is its safety-focused webinar, held this month, on how to reduce accidents and injuries at landfills, transfer stations and recycling facilities. Resources like this are readily available for SWANA members to access online.”
To view the “2014 Workplace Injury and Illness Data” in its entirety, click here.
Similarly, says SWANA, the injury and illness rate for material recovery facility (MRF) employees (56,292) is 8.4 per 100 full-time employees, continuing a significant rise from several years ago (2011 data is available here). The injury and illness rate for landfill employees declined from 5.3 to 4.9, continuing a steady slide in numbers from landfills for nearly a decade.
“The news for the waste and recycling industry isn’t good,” SWANA says in a news release.
Adds SWANA CEO David Biderman, “The increase in the injury rate for collection employees to levels not seen since 2008 is alarming, and the high injury rate for employees at recycling facilities also remains a concern. Too many workers are getting hurt, in spite of increased attention being paid to safety by some employers and the ongoing introduction of new safety-related equipment and programs.”
Biderman continues, “SWANA will continue to expand the safety resources it makes available to the industry to help reduce injuries and get the waste collection industry off the federal government’s list of 10 most dangerous jobs. Nothing we do is more important.”
The BLS report on injuries and illness follows data released by the BLS more than one month ago that showed safety problems persist for waste and recycling industries. The “2014 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary” showed that refuse and recyclable material collectors, as a category ranked fifth among American workers, with a total of 27 fatalities, is down from 33 in 2013.
The only occupations with higher fatality rates, according to the report, were: logging workers; fishers and related fishing workers; aircraft pilots and flight engineers; and roofers. Despite the 2014 decrease in waste and recycling industry fatalities, the fatality rate rose from 33 to 35.8 per 100,000 workers for the year, as the sector employed fewer overall people in 2014.
SWANA says in addition to advancing awareness of this life-and-death issue, the association provides safety webinars and classroom-based learning. According to Jesse Maxwell, the advocacy and eLearning program manager for SWANA, “an excellent example of SWANA’s education is its safety-focused webinar, held this month, on how to reduce accidents and injuries at landfills, transfer stations and recycling facilities. Resources like this are readily available for SWANA members to access online.”
To view the “2014 Workplace Injury and Illness Data” in its entirety, click here.