Michael Du Preez
In a Coronavirus economy, global communities have responded in their own government lockdown executive orders. Beyond the waste hauler to customer relationship, this unique moment is also prompting new discussions at another step in the waste recovery process. Trash collection for local authorities during the COVID19 lockdown is one. With Waste recovery companies deemed as an “essential service”, there are risks involved considering the waste collection and transfer employee’s well-being, as highest priority.
The spread of transmission is via either surface contact or social distancing in trash collection; however, authorities are stating the medical and/or recyclable waste may not be as highly contagious as previously stated. While commercial and industrial volumes are significantly down, the question for waste companies during COVID19 lockdown is to what their respective hauling contracts look like. The risk of re-structuring the balance sheet may involve furlough of field operatives, different transport routes, and remote admin teams possibly after the re-opening of the respective lockdowns.
Many also recognize that, even with all these efforts to keep relations friendly with customers, some amount of disruption is already baked in given the fact that some businesses might not be coming back. For example, in the event of layoffs, customers may forget to re-connect and containers could be temporarily stranded.
The city’s stay home order will be modified to fit Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to reopen, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. All city-permitted and sponsored events will continue to be canceled or rescheduled through May. City employees will continue to work from home, and the Houston Public Library will remain closed during that time as well.
“I do not want people to think they can immediately stop social distancing,” Mayor Turner said. Houston’s numbers are relatively low, but the virus is still here. “You could say that the virus is like a fire,” Mayor Turner said. The city’s attempts to flatten the curve appear to be working but “like a fire, you can extinguish the flames, but often it continues to smolder.”
In some circumstances, the trash collection in residential areas may be overwhelmed with citizens that have used the lockdown to spring clean, and excessive loads of unrecyclable materials are intended for landfill, precautionary measures including the medical waste disposal all playout unfavorably as downsized workforce is ill-equipped to clear the stockpile of waste recycling.
For the frontline of workers that have been kept on at work, being guaranteed by the government for basic pay of 40 hours per week during lockdown, even if unable to work, the nature of social distancing is a tough one. “We see drivers congregating in the mornings around the coffee machine every morning, and these protocols for keeping these employees apart is often revealed daily with the apocalyptic scenes of Coronavirus economy,” said one Manager.
The waste management companies as an essential service would need to consider the following consequences of quarantine and lockdown:
- Public transport, non-essential services offices, and malls closed
- Residential trash must be increasing with shopping online
- Pop-up hospitals and wards need more waste removal
- Hotels, Cruise ships and Stadiums used for quarantine
The panic buying of PPE has reached proportions of shortage for health workers on the frontline. Governments also are getting involved to procure PPE from supply giants like China to get demand for record numbers of new cases in the U.S. Waste companies must keep workers safe during collection, as incidents of curbside collection that are not bagged are being left alone. Workers that sort trash for recycling facilities would need physical distancing of six feet executing orders of recommended practice.
The PPE and medical waste will increase dramatically with the current demand. No new guidelines have been prescribed for waste companies to spray or to disinfect areas of trash collection. The chance of increased routes to hospitals and residential areas may need to weigh changes per unit of trash.
Fatigue is serious concern for a limited workforce covering for less spread transmission. Fatigue in this frontline may be a detriment to the safety of others in event of injury or risk of mishandling waste that is requiring special handling related to medical waste versus recyclable waste.
Self-quarantine for workers on the front line, may involve hotels and other accommodation to flatten the curve of the pandemic. The financial feasibility for these incentives depends on the relief provided by the government. The return to business after lockdown will also be another phase of consideration in the curb of the potential spread of another second wave of transmission.
Annapurna Solutions a Software startup focused towards the Circular economy in Houston is among the latest generation of startups leveraging RFID tags as part of the sustainability equation to enhance the efficiency of waste disposal. For more information, contact Anna Faith, Director of Operations, at [email protected] or visit www.annapurnasolutions.org.
