16 Canadian Occupational Safety | www.cos-mag.com
Talking
TRASH
Waste
collectors
3 times
more likely
to be hurt
on the job
By Amanda Silliker
O
n April 22, 2010, Robert Gagnon, a garbage truck driver with Investissement
N&N McGraw in New Brunswick, left his truck to collect garbage on the
opposite side of the road. He was hit by a half-ton truck and was thrown 150
feet into the ditch. He died instantly.
Since 2003, Gagnon and three other waste collection workers have died
from workplace injuries in New Brunswick — in an industry of about only
350 employees. Additionally, waste collection workers are three times more
likely to be hurt on the job than the average worker in the province, accord-
ing to WorkSafeNB.
"That's pretty alarming," says Tim Petersen, acting president and CEO of WorkSafeNB. "It's not a
large industry… but we've seen significant frequency of injury and often very severe."
Waste collection is a much more dangerous job than most people realize, and health and safety
managers need to be helping these workers stay safe on the road. According to Statistics Canada, 30,200
individuals across the country fall into the "public works maintenance equipment operators and related
workers" category, which includes waste collection workers.
One current issue waste collectors are facing is needles. Needles that are disposed of in a garbage bag
can expose workers to bio hazards. In November 2016, two waste collectors in the Region of Durham
in Ontario were stuck by used hypodermic needles.
"This is a serious issue that affects the safety of not only workers, but also their families by potentially
exposing them to diseases such as hepatitis or HIV," said Craig Bartlett, manager of waste operations at
the region, at the time of the incident. "We urge residents to safely dispose of used hypodermic needles
by returning them to a local pharmacy, free of charge."