SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Labour’s Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), waste collection continued to remain as the seventh deadliest job in the U.S. in 2022, unchanged from the year before that.
The rate of fatalities among refuse and recyclable material collectors recorded decline in 2022. This is the third consecutive year that fatality rates have declined. BLS recorded 22.6 fatal work injuries for every 100,000 full-time collection workers in that sector. This compares with 27.9 in 2021. In total, there were 31 fatal occupational injuries in 2022 in the solid waste collection category.
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The number of deaths at MRFs surged higher in 2022. The total number of reported fatalities stood at five, in comparison with 4 in 2021 and 2020.
In response to the data, Amy Lestition Burke, executive director and CEO of the Solid Waste Association of North America said that the latest BLS data is a reminder that the sector needs to ensure that safety is a top priority. It will strive to reduce worker fatalities through continued industry engagement, Burke added.
BLS did not provide specific fatality data for landfills in 2022, as it had done in the previous years. It must be noted that there have been several fatalities at landfills involving collection workers during the current year.