The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) released its Waste, Construction, Demolition, and Recycling Material Recovery Facility Temporary Worker Recommended Practices guide. The guide comes as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported earlier this year that while the waste and recycling industry saw an increase in nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses, the rate at material recovery facilities (MRFs) decreased significantly from 9.8 to 4.9.
“The decrease at MRFs is promising, but today’s numbers show that we have yet to make real progress out on the roads where our collections workers face numerous hazards on a daily basis. We need to redouble our efforts and make sure that we are doing all that we can to protect our employees. The numbers today demonstrate that we have serious challenges ahead,” said NWRA President CEO Darrell Smith.
NWRA is leading the effort to reducing injuries and fatalities in the industry through engagement such as, an alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), partnership with the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) for a request for proposals to provide a baseline analysis for what is occurring in the industry, and improving the safety message through the redesign of the weekly safety newsletter, Safety Monday.