It’s a Dangerous Job So Hug Your Garbage Man Today

Being a garbage man means you have a job that’s placed among the occupations with high fatality rates.

Waste and recyclable collection employees have the most dangerous municipal job in America and it’s the 5^th highest worker fatality rate for all occupational categories.

Fatal injuries per 100,000 workers

1. Loggers
2. Fishers
3. Pilots and flight engineers
4. Roofers
5. Garbage men
6. Farmers

Workers in waste management are:

• In the top 3 that have the greatest risk of falling.
• Number 5 in having the greatest number of fatalities in the service sector.
• At least 98 fatalities directly related to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collection, processing and disposal occurred between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016.
• 38 fatalities were of solid waste employees on the job, occurring mainly during collection.
• 13 incidents took place at a landfill or materials recovery facility (MRF).
• 11 fatalities during collection were due to an employee being struck by a vehicle while working outside a garbage truck.
• 4 fatalities were caused by workers falling off a truck they were riding.
• 7 years old was the average age of workers who died on the job.
• 60% were over 40 years old.
• Being struck by a vehicle was also the most common cause of death at post-collection facilities.
• Nearly 2 people are killed per week in accidents involving waste collection vehicles with other drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
• Garbage men are also potentially menaced by the contents of the trash cans:
  • Broken glass
  • Cat and dog excrement
  • Chemical wastes
  • Carcasses of pets and possums
  • Syringes
  • Slumbering homeless people
  • Battery acid
  • Bleach
  • Pesticides
  • Metal blades
  • Dead rats, mice, and roaches

• Trash pick up crews still run an average of 20 miles per day behind moving garbage trucks.
  • Repeated lifting while on the run, jumping in and out of the trucks, and lifting cans that weigh 100 lbs or more can cause crippling injuries:
    • Back Strain
    • Shoulder Strain
    • Ankle Sprain
    • Hernias
    • Fractured Feet
    • Bruised Knees
    • Torn Hands
  • Garbage men are more likely to suffer from:
    • Stomach Problems
    • Allergies
    • Infections
    • Respiratory Problems

….than the general workforce