Puncture wounds from sharp objects like needles, glass, and ceramic are the number one injury for waste sorting staff at Southeast Eco 360.
Waste Diversion Coordinator Gena Alderson says staff are given shots for hepatitis and tetanus as well as safety equipment like puncture resistant gloves.
“Part of the effectiveness of their jobs is that they’re able to move their fingers, and grab things, and have full range of motion, but we want them to be protected,” says Alderson. “So they do have quite thick rubber gloves which reduces puncture incidents.”
She adds in terms of items like glass, ceramics, and even plates, there are steps residents can take to reduce the risk to sorters.
“If those are broken, actually, if they’re broken or not, we want them in the clear bag,” says Alderson. “So that step in itself is a big one because the clear bag is not sorted, so we’re going to avoid people handling that at all.”
Alderson says if people are throwing out sharp objects they should wrap them in newspaper, paper towel, or put them in a container to reduce the risk of injuries to the frontline workers picking up waste on the kerb.
