The waste and recycling industry continues to experience some of the highest occupational fatality rates in the United States, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and underscores the ongoing need for stronger safety practices across the sector.
In transfer stations, landfills, recycling plants, material recovery facilities (MRFs), or commercial collection sites, workers routinely perform tasks in close proximity to loaders, dozers, compactors, conveyors, and other mobile equipment. These environments are dynamic, noisy, and often congested. Visibility can change quickly due to dust, debris, lighting conditions, equipment positioning, or worker movement.
For safety leaders, the challenge is not just identifying hazards but also ensuring that operators and workers maintain awareness of one another as conditions change throughout the day.
Building a Culture of Safety
Safety outcomes are driven not only by equipment and procedures, but also by organizational culture. Workers must believe that safety is valued as highly as productivity, and management must consistently reinforce that message through policy and practice. A strong safety culture requires organizations to address risks proactively rather than react only after incidents occur.
A Shift Towards Proactive Measures
One practical way to strengthen safety culture is to focus on leading indicators rather than lagging indicators. While looking at previous injury rates and incident reports remain important, developing a strong safety culture requires a more proactive approach. Industry experts such as Will Flower advocate for using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as near miss data and hazard observations to assess safety performance. These leading indicators can help organizations identify emerging risks before an incident occurs and provide valuable insight into worker and equipment interactions throughout a facility or jobsite.
Managing Equipment and Conveyor Hazards
A proactive approach is especially important in waste and recycling operations where proximity hazards are common. In material recovery facilities, workers may operate near conveyors, balers, shredders, and sorting equipment. In landfill and transfer station environments, personnel often work alongside loaders, compactors, and haul vehicles.
Many incidents occur not because hazards are unknown, but because conditions change rapidly. A worker can quickly enter a blind spot, move into a high-risk area, or become obscured by equipment, materials, or debris. Maintaining awareness of worker locations around active equipment remains a key challenge.
Technology as a Supporting Layer of Protection
Technology can play a supporting role in addressing these challenges. Proximity warning systems, telematics, and worker detection technologies such as passive RFID are increasingly being used to supplement existing safety practices and provide additional awareness when workers enter high-risk zones.
When integrated, these tools can help organizations identify high-risk areas and recurring hazards, document near misses,and generate data that supports continuous improvement. The goal is not to replace training, procedures, or supervision, but to add multiple layers of protection that reduce the likelihood of a serious incident.
Turning Data into Prevention
While safety practices in the waste and recycling industry continue to evolve, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that risk mitigation remains a persistent challenge across the sector. By combining strong leadership, proactive measurement, and practical controls, companies can continue working toward the shared goal of reducing exposure in high-risk environments and sending every worker home safely at the end of the day.
SCAN~LINK Technologies Inc. is a provider of passive RFID worker detection systems for waste, recycling, and conveyor operations. For more information, contact Eric Burton at (905) 304-6100, ext. 216, e-mail [email protected] or visit .
Reference
- S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 91TV Management and Remediation Services: NAICS 562 Biderman, David;Flower, Will. 91TV Advantage Safety Supplement, January 2025.