Waste Safety

Blow Me Down 

By Chris Carlson

Waste firms prepare for hurricane season...

Worries on Wheels 

BY CHRIS CARLSON

Survey identifies ten major trucking industry concerns....

Sim Sanitation: 

BY CHRIS CARLSON

Garbage truck drivers across the United States recently had the chance to put their safety skills to the test in a high-tech simulator training session....

Balers by the Book 

By Gary Satterfield and Michael Fickes

How government regulations and voluntary ANSI standards combine to improve baler safety....

Good to Go 

Bruce A. Hooker

Promoting safe driving habits through orientation and initial training....

An Inconvenient Mess 

Kate McGinn

Disaster is a strong word, but cleaning up an environmental mess whether it results from a fuel oil or hydraulic fluid spill from a garbage truck accident,...

The Safety Evolution 

By Phil Headley and Michael Fickes

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles about ANSI safety standards and solid waste equipment. NOTHING, OF COURSE, is ever absolutely...

If They Don't Just Say No 

Bruce A. Hooker

Since 1996, Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations (49 CFR Parts 40 & 382) have required that all waste industry drivers who operate vehicles...

Embracing Safety 

By Paul Kilduff

The grueling work of the waste industry whether it takes place on a residential or commercial route, or at a transfer station, recycling center or landfill...

Dead Man's Curb 

David Biderman NSWMA General Counsel

The federal bureau of labor statistics (BLS) has issued its annual review of the previous year's workplace fatalities and the results contain both bad...

The Camera Eye 

Bruce A. Hooker R.F. Mattei & Associates of CA Insurance Services Sacramento, Calif.

Despite the safety efforts implemented by most waste companies, vehicle accidents are still a reality of the industry. Sometimes the mishaps are the fault...

Defensive Behavior 

Kate McGinn

What do the following types of accidents lane changes, sideswipes, collisions at intersections, turning squeezes, pedestrian strikes and backing accidents...

Worth Their While 

Bruce Hooker

VEHICLE ACCIDENTS AND EMPLOYEE INJURIES negatively impact a company's bottom line through higher insurance rates and other costs not covered by insurance,...

Good drivers are NO ACCIDENT 

Dennis Maisano

Law enforcement officers and garbage truck drivers are similar in one important way: Both are given dangerous weapons to perform their jobs. While police...

Keeping Workers Safe 

BY SUSAN EPPES & JAN HESTER

A perception exists in some quarters that waste is a dangerous business, and accidents are inevitable. However, industry members cannot afford to have...

There's Trouble Overhead 

Bruce Hooker

WASTE COLLECTION VEHICLES are colliding with overhead objects too frequently, yet safety efforts are targeting other areas. Considerable driver safety...

Playing it Safe 

By Kim O'Connell

LAST JULY, JOHN-PAUL RODRIGUES, a rookie sanitation worker in Ossining, N.Y., died after falling off the back of a trash truck and sustaining a head injury....

OSHA Violations Increase 

David Biderman

NEW SAFETY COMPLIANCE DATA recently released by the federal government reveal a mixed bag for the solid waste industry. According to the Washington-based...

Keeping Watch 

Bruce Hooker

WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY, no waste company would operate without a plan. Businesses take special care in crafting policies and procedures that are specific...

Let's Not Roll 

Bruce Hooker R.F. Mattei & Associates of CA Insurance Service Sacramento, Calif.

JUST BY LOOKING AT A REFUSE TRUCK, it is hard to imagine that anything besides a fire could cause it serious damage. Yet, there is something else that...

The AFTERMATH 

By Michael Fickes

WHEN DISASTERS STRIKE, a community's first call might not be to a waste company. However, maybe it should be, as several haulers have proved during recent...

Design on a Dime 

Wendy Angel

WHAT SHOULD A CITY DO WHEN it wants million-dollar safety but has a pennywise budget? As Gainesville, Ga., learned, it is possible to make workers and...

Truck Fires: A Burning Issue 

Bruce A. Hooker R.F. Mattei & Associates of CA Insurance Services Sacramento, Calif.

VEHICLES FIRES CAN QUICKLY burn up a waste company's profits. Although such accidents tend to occur less frequently than other types of losses in the...

The Risks of a Bad Mix 

Kate McGinn XL Specialty Insurance Co. www.xlinsurance.com Exton, Pa.

THE INCIDENT MADE HEADLINES: Fumes Overcome Garbage Collectors. According to a New Jersey newspaper, two garbage collectors recently were overcome with...

Halting Rear-End Accidents 

Bruce A. Hooker

REAR-END ACCIDENTS ARE the second most frequent motor vehicle accidents in the industry, following backing accidents, according to an industry study of...