Reducing Fatalities and Risk: Getting the Industry Off of the Top 10 List
Published online: February 6, 2025
Written by: David Biderman
"There are several universal issues in the solid waste and recycling industry: 1) it is tough to recruit and retain high quality employees, 2) no one wants to live near any type of facility handling waste, and 3) keeping workers and the communities we serve safe is an ongoing challenge.
When I entered the solid waste industry in 1997 at the Environmental Industry Associations (EIA), we had a small “Driver of the Year” program and an ANSI Committee that established voluntary safety guidelines for trucks and facilities. The ANSI standard that is perhaps best known is the fundamental guidance that a worker should not be on the riding step of a waste collection vehicle if the truck is backing, or if it is moving forward at more than one fifth of a mile or at a speed of more than 10 miles per hour. ..."
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