Safety Zone

Not backing down on backing

During the week of Jan. 23-27, the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), Washington, hosted a training and awareness effort focused around reducing accidents, fatalities and injuries related to truck backing incidents, which represent common challenges for the industry.

The NWRA says fatalities caused by backing vehicles continue to be a leading cause of preventable deaths for waste and recycling workers, accounting for nearly 30 percent of industry worker fatalities in 2015.

The association asked members of the waste and recycling industry to join in NWRA’s commitment toward significantly improving safety for the waste and recycling industry by taking part in this effort.

Talking about statistics

Bret Biggers, director of statistics and standards for the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Washington, comments on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2015 workplace injury and illness data and how they relate to the efforts made to improve safety in the waste and remediation industry in a podcast interview with Waste Today Editor Kristin Smith, available at www.WasteTodayMagazine.com/video/podcast-interview-bret-biggers-nwra-bls-safety.

Committed to providing resources

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, says it continues its efforts to educate and advance awareness for better industry safety practices through its integrated Safety Matters program and access to free safety-focused resources online and in person.

The Safety Matters webpage, available at https://swana.org/ safety.aspx, is a resource portal that serves as a central place for SWANA members and other industry professionals to access the latest in safety news, materials and upcoming events.

Included on the webpage is information about each of SWANA’s safety initiatives, including the Safety Ambassador program, Slow Down to Get Around decal distribution, safety awards and direct links to outside resources, such as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).