NWRA, SWANA form alliance with OSHA to improve safety in waste

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have signed an alliance agreement to provide SWANA members, NWRA members and the public with information, guidance and access to resources to help protect the health and safety of workers in the solid waste industry.

OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt, SWANA CEO and Executive Director David Biderman, and NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith signed the two-year agreement on Sept. 27 at the U.S. Department of Labor's Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C. They were joined by SWANA chapter safety ambassadors, county and municipal safety directors, and other representatives from the waste and recycling industry and OSHA to recognize the partnership.

“SWANA will work closely with NWRA and OSHA to provide timely and useful safety information and resources to the entire industry,” Biderman says. “It doesn’t matter whether a solid waste employee is in the public or private sector, our goal is to protect all solid waste workers. Our network of 42 state chapters in the U.S. provides a nationwide platform for distributing safety information developed under this alliance.”

“I am pleased to stand here today with our industry colleagues and formalize our alliance with OSHA. NWRA is committed to workplace safety and wants every employee to come home safely at the end of his or her shift. That commitment is reflected in our partnership with OSHA,” Smith says.

The alliance agreement commits the associations and OSHA to collaborate in safety training and education efforts with a focus on backovers and distracted driving; slips, trips and falls; needlestick injuries; heat and cold stress; and musculoskeletal injuries.