From 1992 to 2012, 43 workers were killed while hauling solid waste and recycling materials in New Jersey. Many more were seriously injured. This Web page provides resources to promote safe work practices in this industry.
Solid Waste Workers Killed on the Job (New Jersey) English [pdf 1m], Spanish pdf 209k]
The NJDOH conducts in-depth investigations of select fatal occupational injuries as part of the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Project, with support from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). FACE is designed to identify the underlying causes of work-related fatalities and detect common patterns of fatal injuries in New Jersey. Through FACE Investigation Reports, FACE informs employers and workers of commonly occurring hazardous operations and work practices including recommendations for preventing similar incidents in the future.
The following are FACE investigation reports related to solid waste and recycling workers who were fatally injured in New Jersey and other states from 1990-2013. All these reports are available on the NIOSH FACE Program Web site by using the search feature. Suggested key words include: refuse truck, trash truck, recycling, garbage truck.
NEW JERSEY
CALIFORNIA
IOWA
KENTUCKY
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MISSOURI
NEBRASKA
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
OKLAHOMA
TEXAS
VIRGINIA
*NIOSH in-house report; state never had a FACE project.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Program:
The NJDLWD’s Office of Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health enforces OSHA standards in New Jersey’s public sector. The NJDLWD also offers free on-site consultation to New Jersey private and public employers.
ANSI oversees the creation, promulgation and use of thousands of norms and guidelines that directly impact businesses in nearly every sector: from acoustical devices to construction equipment, from dairy and livestock production to energy distribution, and many more. The following ANSI standards are particularly pertinent to the solid waste industry:
National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA): the trade association focused on making trash collection, processing and disposal operations less dangerous by encouraging safety training, assistance for compliance with regulations, company safety rules and policies.
SWANA has made its mission to advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound management of municipal solid waste in North America and provides a forum for solid waste professionals to share information and promote training. SWANA’s technical conferences and training programs cover all aspects of integrated municipal solid waste management, and the Association is a major policy and technical representative of solid waste management practitioners, executives, companies and government organizations.
Shereef Elnahal, M.D., M.B.A.
Commissioner
P.O. Box 360
Trenton, NJ 08625
New Jersey is home to over 2,000 licensed hospitals, nursing homes, and medical care facilities. The New Jersey Department of Health works to ensure that citizens receive appropriate levels of care in every regulated facility.
New Jersey's local and county health departments are community-based public health service and a first point of contact for questions about public health services or health conditions.
