PREVENTING FATALITIES, INJURIES AND accidents in the solid waste industry is an ongoing struggle. Each day, tens of thousands of collection trucks run their routes, sometimes making more than 800 residential pickups. These trucks dump their loads...

BILLY MARTIN IS ELIMINATING safety directors from Waste Management Inc. (WM) divisions nationwide. Three years ago, the Houston-based trash behemoth fielded more than 300 safety directors. Today, the count is 150...

Republic Services, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is hoping that its new safety program enabled children across the nation to enjoy a happy and harm-free Halloween. Even more than that, the waste firm wants its initiative to keep kids safe from vehicular...

GARBAGE HAULING CAN be rough work, especially when you're new to the job and your route. That is what one truck driver found out in July when he wedged his truck under a railroad bridge in Omaha, Neb. The driver, who had been on the job only two...

IT'S THE NEWS THAT NO waste industry professional wants to hear. In January, Eva Barrientos, a New York City sanitation worker, was killed in a freak accident after she was pinned on top of a refuse truck by one of the vehicle's mechanical levers...

Washington, D.C. — The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) is conducting an online training program called "Hauler Safety Training" on Sept. 29 and 30. The cost of the 90-minute program is $195. For more information, call 60-910...

NOT LONG AGO, a group of recycling workers returning from a break discovered a fresh paper bale with the bloody shirt of a worker's uniform wrapped around the side of the bale. When they pried open the bale, they found what was left of their...

THE AVERAGE TRUCK ACCIDENT costs $217,000. The price tag, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Washington, D.C., includes medical expenses, emergency services, property damage, lost productivity and the monetary value of ...

The Washington, D.C.-based National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) has revamped its Web site (www.nswma.org) to help those in private solid waste management stay better informed about their industry. The new site includes a...

LAST YEAR, HIGHWAY FATALITIES reached their highest level since 1990 and cost the United States more than $230 billion. For commercial fleets, those costs go directly to the bottom line in increased operating expenses. Because drivers ultimately...