Waste360 Staff, Staff

May 14, 2015

3 Min Read
WasteExpo Offering Education on Safety for the 5th Most Dangerous Profession in the U.S.

WasteExpo is taking on the important safety issues impacting the waste industry through a series of education sessions. In collaboration with the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), the conference will cover the most serious safety problem in the industry–distracted driving. In addition, it will engage participants on issues around fire, loss control & crime prevention and legal risks. According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the waste industry is the fifth most dangerous industry.

From trash collection to processing and disposal operations, safety is a critical topic. Safety training, compliance & regulations, rules & policies and organizations that create cultures of safety are making the industry safer. The industry will continue to become safer through knowledge and awareness.

“Safety is a major challenge facing today’s waste industry. The goal of our sessions is to bring greater awareness to safety issues confronting the industry,” said Mark Hickey, Vice President, Penton’s Waste360. “We look forward to discussing new ways to improve safety throughout the industry by offering event attendees ideas and solutions on how to keep their workers safer.”

Sheila R. Alkire, Director of Education, NWRA added, “Distracted drivers especially pose a hazard to the industry. We believe that technology is a ‘game changer’ - it can help organizations identify both positive and negative behavior and can also be used to create a safer environment for drivers.”

The Safety Super Session “Distracted Driving” will take place on Tuesday, June 2 at 1:30 p.m.  

As injuries and fatalities rise in the waste and recycling industry, the prevention of distracted driving through initiatives and programs is becoming more important. In this session attendees will learn the causes of distracted driving from inside and outside of the cab, along with prevention programs and technologies to prevent distracted driving. In addition, OSHA regulations and other legal aspects of distracted driving will be covered.

The session will be moderated by John Haudenshield, Director of Safety, National Waste & Recycling Association. Session speakers include:

  • Garry Mosier, Vice President of Operations, Alliance Wireless Technologies, Inc.

  • Jerry Peters, OSHA Compliance Manager, Rumpke Consolidated Companies

  • Eric Conn, Chair, OSHA Practice Group, Conn Maciel Carey, PLLC,

  • Del Lisk, Vice President Safety Services, Lytx, Inc.

  • Larry Stone, Corporate Safety Director, Waste Pro USA

  • Shawn Mandel, Director of Safety, Waste Connections, Inc.

Click here to learn more about the speakers. 

Other sessions focused on safety include:

  • Fire Safety” presented by John Guglielmo of HazMat/CPR and Josh Densberger of Waste Pro USA will take place Wednesday, June 3 at 10:15 a.m.

  • Loss Control and Crime Prevention in the Waste & Recycling Industry” presented by Daniel Katt of Rumpke will take place Wednesday, June 3 at 1:30 p.m.

  • Managing the Legal Risks of Safety Technologies” presented by John E. Cruickshank of Alaniz, Schraeder, Linker, Farris, Mayes, LLP; Peter Evans of Preco Electronics, Inc.; and Shannon Harrop, Southwestern Sales Company, TarpARMOR will take place Wednesday, June 3 at 3:00 p.m.

  • Best Training Programs & Practices” will take place on Monday, June 1 at 3:00 p.m. Speakers include: Nicole Thunich, Progressive Waste Solutions, Chris Hensen, Republic Services, Inc., Don Diego Padilla, FleetMind and Billy Martin, Waste Management, Inc. The session will be moderated by Ralph Ford, Health, Safety, & Risk Manager, Waste Industries USA.

To register to attend WasteExpo, click here

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