The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) Raleigh, North Carolina, has collaborated with the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, on a study that examines the rate at which material recovery facility (MRF) workers are stuck by needles.

The study indicates a needlestick injury rate of 2.7 per 100 workers. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) 2016 data, MRF injuries (including non-needlestick related) occur at a rate of 6 per 100 workers, suggesting 45 percent of MRF injuries could be attributed to needlesticks.

This study surveyed MRF owners on needlestick occurrences at their facilities, an area in which little data exists, EREF says. The survey, which was initiated online with follow-up calls and emails for additional information, includes responses from 35 MRFs across the U.S. and Canada. Fifty-three percent of these facilities noted having simply observed needles daily or a few times per week. Over half of the facilities observed them mixed with plastics. Because of their direct contact with waste material, MRF picking line workers experienced the highest number of incidences at a rate of 3.9 per 100 workers.

“MRFs across the U.S. are working to decrease contamination in order to meet China’s new standards, putting more pressure on picking line workers to remove contamination and increasing the possibility of injury,” says Bryan Staley, EREF CEO and president. “Given the limited data available on needlesticks, this study aims to inform discussions and decision-making related to worker safety.”

Based on EREF findings, it is estimated that between 781 and 1,484 needlestick injuries might occur each year at U.S. MRFs. These injuries could result in up to $2.25 million in direct costs for treatment, prophylaxis and patient monitoring.

“SWANA was pleased to work with EREF on this important study as needlesticks are a growing occupational hazard at MRFs and other solid waste facilities,” says David Biderman, SWANA CEO and executive director. “We look forward to working on additional projects with EREF in the near future.”

Seventy-five percent of survey respondents state that needlestick incidences are very important compared with other risks, EREF says. MRFs identified several strategies to reduce needlestick injuries, including written protocols, the use of personal protective equipment, changes in operations or equipment to manage the hazard, reinforcement of reporting and facility and community education.

While policies and guidance exist to regulate household sharps disposal, these policies vary from state to state, the organization says. Forty-six states, excluding California, Massachusetts, Oregon and Wisconsin, allow for sharps disposal in household trash, provided it is contained in a properly labeled, rigid container. Other suggested disposal methods aim to eliminate needles from the municipal solid waste stream altogether. They include community drop-off sites, mail-back and syringe exchange programs and residential special waste pickup services.

Organizers of the Plasticity Forum events have announced several upcoming dates and venues, including a Plasticity Forum to be held the Ritz Carlton in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 25, 2018.

Doug Woodring, a co-founder of the Plasticity Forum organization, says the not-for-profit organization also intends to hold a forum in Fiji at the end of February 2019 and is lining up details for another Plasticity Forum in Paris in April 2019.

A blog post for the upcoming Malaysia event indicates plastic labels on packaging will be one of several points of discussion at the October forum.

A presenter from United States-based Avery Dennison will be on hand to discuss how labels lend color, branding, bar code tracking and legally required information to packaging. However, even in packaging recycling processes, “much of the time, the label is removed, and discarded as waste.”

Avery Dennison indicates it has earmarked label waste as a top strategic challenge in its 2025 sustainability goals, and at the Labelexpo 2018 event in suburban Chicago, the company’s corporate display used panels made from 50 percent consumer label scrap.

In its blog post, the Plasticity organization says label a beverage bottle’s “logistics possible with all the information needed to make a safe and happy customer.” When it comes to recycling labels at the end of a product’s life, the potential to recycle “means thinking carefully about the purpose, its composition and the ability to remove it so that both the label and the plastic it serves can be recovered.”

Adds the blog post, “It is early [in] the adventure to make label waste sustainable, but thankfully industry players like Avery Dennison are looking at this issue now.”

More information on speakers and presenters at the Plasticity Forum in Malaysia can be found on this web page. 

The California Legislature spent part of the final week of its 2017-2018 session passing several pieces of legislation it says are designed to reduce plastic pollution.

The package of five bills, which will be sent to Gov. Jerry Brown to either sign or veto by Sept. 30, “includes [a] prohibition on unsustainable takeout food packaging, testing for microplastics, straws upon request and funding for recycling centers,” according to a news release from Sacramento, California-based not-for-profit organization Californians Against Waste (CAW).

Of the five senate and assembly bills passed, SB 452, which CAW says “increases funding for recycling centers, increasing opportunities for consumers to redeem their bottles and cans,” appears to have the most direct impact on recycling.

Several of the other bills, however, could affect how much plastic scrap is generated or whether some types of plastic packaging are replaced by other materials. The other four bills, as described by CAW, include:

• SB 1335, which prohibits non-recyclable and non-compostable takeout food packaging at state facilities, including parks, beaches, colleges, and fairgrounds.
• AB 1884, which requires restaurants to offer straws only upon request;
• SB 1263, which directs the Ocean Protection Council to develop a plan for stemming the growth of microplastics; and
• SB 1422, which requires all drinking water to be tested for “plastic contamination.”

“The California legislature is continuing to fill the vacuum of federal leadership by tackling our plastic pollution crisis and the throw-away culture that causes it,” says Mark Murray, CAW executive director. “Single-use plastic products that we use for mere moments pollute our planet at every stage: beginning with air and water contamination from oil and gas extraction, continuing through the production process, and ending with disposal, where an estimated 8 million tons enter the oceans every year and millions of tons end up in landfills and incinerators.”

Regarding SB 452, the recycling related bill, CAW writes, “In a year that saw China saying ‘no’ to imported plastic from around the globe, SB 452 protects recycling centers from closing their doors by temporarily increasing incentives to allow the marketplace to stabilize, stemming the tide of the nearly 1,000 recycling centers that have closed since peak program recycling.”

The bill’s author, State Sen. Steven Glazer, comments, “Beverage container recycling centers were hit hard a few years ago when global oil prices dropped, causing centers to close, and restricting recycling access for many Californians. SB 452 puts California on a path to returning this 30-year program to its historically high recycling rates.”

The text of the bill, which can be found on this web page, places stricter requirements on large retailers to establish recycling redemption centers to serve residents. The bill also “continuously appropriates from the [California Beverage Container Recycling Fund] $15 million annually for payments for curbside programs and neighborhood drop-off programs and $10.5 million annually for payments to cities and counties for beverage container recycling and litter cleanup activities.”

SB 1335 has been designed to “phase out takeout food packaging that is not widely recycled or composted [from] being used at state facilities, including state parks, beaches, colleges, office buildings, and fairgrounds,” according to CAW. That bill’s author, State Sen. Ben Allen, comments, “The state can lead by example and show that we don’t have to harm our environment every time we get food in a container. Sustainable food packaging is available and affordable – we just need to make the conscious choice to switch to a better alternative.”

 

John Dyer, health and safety director in the waste business for Veolia North America, Boston, has received the Falls Church, Virginia-based Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA) Outreach Award during the VPPPA National Symposium awards ceremony and reception Aug. 30.

Over the past 10 years, Veolia says Dyer has been instrumental in leading the campaign for Veolia North America’s Environmental Solutions and Services (ESS) business to achieve VPP status at locations across the United States and Puerto Rico.

“John exemplifies Veolia’s commitment to safety and health initiatives on and off the job through his outreach and mentoring with our sites,” Bob Cappadona, Veolia North America president and chief operating officer of ESS, says. “We are proud of John for receiving this year’s VPPPA Outreach Award and his dedication to safety at our company.”

In 2017, Dyer mentored 125 employees across six Veolia North America ESS facilities using the Veolia VPP Gap Analysis Program, which helps identify areas of safety improvement in alignment with VPP qualifications. The program also encourages the sharing of ideas and lessons learned from previous VPP sites and applying them to new sites working towards the certification.

"The VPP Outreach Award recognizes VPP Ambassadors who have gone above and beyond to communicate and persuade others about the benefits of pursuing OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration), DOE (Department of Energy) or state-plan VPP approval," Mike Guillory, VPPPA board of directors chair, says. "John's unwavering dedication to increase workplace safety in all industries is evident and we are happy to have him as a 2018 VPP Outreach Award recipient."

The VPPPA Annual Awards identify VPPPA member sites or individuals that have made exceptional contributions to the mission of the association during the previous year.