COVID-19

What Waste Collectors and Recyclers Have to Find out about COVID-19

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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms often include coughing, shortness of breath, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell. Our understanding of the spread of the virus will develop as we learn more about it. Check the CDC website for the latest information. The virus is believed to mainly spread from person to person:

Recent studies show that the virus can be spread by people who do not show symptoms. It is possible for a person to contract COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not believed to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about this virus. Older adults and people of all ages with serious underlying medical conditions may be at greater risk of more serious complications from COVID-19.

As a waste collector or recycler, how can I protect myself and slow down the spread?

Potential sources of exposure for waste collectors and recyclers are close contact with an employee or the public with COVID-19 or contact with surfaces that are touched or handled by a person with COVID-19.

  • Notify your manager and stay home if symptoms occur.
  • Follow the CDC recommended steps when you are sick. You should not return to work until the criteria for ending home isolation are met in consultation with health care providers and state and local health officials.
  • Follow CDC recommended precautions and notify your manager if you are fine but have a sick family member at home with COVID-19.
  • Limit close contact with others by keeping them at least 6 feet apart if possible.
  • CDC recommends wearing fabric face covers in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas with significant community-level broadcast. Fabric covers can prevent people who don't know they have the virus from spreading it to others. These face coverings are not surgical masks or respirators and are not a suitable substitute for them in workplaces where masks or respirators are recommended or required.
  • Practice routine cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as steering wheels, door handles, levers and control panels. Important times for cleaning are:
    • At the beginning and at the end of each shift
    • After someone else uses your vehicle or workplace
  • Wear your normal personal protective equipment (PPE) as you start your day. This can include work gloves, eye protection (e.g. safety glasses) and work clothing or overalls.
  • Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered disinfectantexternal symbol
  • Replace work gloves if they become damaged (e.g. if they are torn or torn).
    • Practice proper hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette. These are important measures to control infection. Regularly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Important times for cleaning your hands are:
      • Before and after work, shifts and work breaks
      • After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
      • After using the toilet
      • Prepare before eating or eating
      • Before putting on, touching or removing fabric covers
  • If possible, avoid contact with body fluids. Use gloves when touching surfaces contaminated with body fluids.
  • Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Be especially careful when putting on and taking off PPE.
  • Stay up to date with your company's current guidelines on COVID-19. Follow your employer's instructions on social distancing.

What steps should my employer take?

Employers should have a COVID-19 health and safety plan to protect workers, following the CDC Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers. This plan should be shared with you and your employees. Employers should:

Reduce transmission among employees

Provide a healthy work environment

  • Institutional measures to physically separate and increase the distance between employees and customers, such as
    • Arrange the workstations so that employees can stay at least 3 m away from other employees.
    • Staggering shifts, start times and break times to reduce the number of people working in work and break areas at the same time.
    • Remove or rearrange chairs and tables, or add visual cue tags in employee break rooms to encourage social distancing practices between employees. Identify alternative areas for overflow volume.
    • Communicate using text messages, phone, email, and personal cell phones to communicate rather than face-to-face.
    • If possible, cancel or postpone personal meetings and training sessions. If you need to meet, spread yourself 6 feet or more apart between participants.
    • If possible, limit the waste collectors to one person per truck.
  • Place posters encouraging staying home when sick, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and appropriate hand hygiene practices at the entrance to the workplace and in other work areas where they are likely to be seen.
  • Provide tissues and no-touch disposal containers that can be used by staff.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the facility or vehicle. If the surfaces are visibly soiled, clean them before disinfecting. For disinfection, use products that meet the EPA criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2external symbol
  • Provide disposable disinfectant wipes so that frequently touched surfaces can be wiped off.
  • Follow all applicable federal regulations for occupational health and safety as well as the guidelines of the health authorities.

Keep your business running smoothly

  • Designate a person who will be responsible for responding to COVID-19 concerns. Employees should know who this person is and how to contact them.
  • Use a hotline that employees can use to raise concerns anonymously.
  • Implement flexible workplaces such as teleworking for employees who can perform their tasks remotely.
  • Implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices. Consider developing non-punishable emergency sick leave guidelines if some or all employees are not offered sick leave. Employers shouldn't need a positive COVID-19 test result or an indication from a health care provider for sick workers to confirm their illness, qualify for a sick leave, or return to work.
  • Include who to contact if employees get sick. When an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19 infection, employers should inform colleagues of their potential exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, but maintain confidentiality under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  • Explore alternative other ways to encourage hand washing when hand sanitizer is difficult to get hold of and garbage collectors and recyclers cannot use public toilets. For example, provide a large bucket (5+ gallons) with a lid and faucet that can be used to provide water for hand washing. We should clean buckets with detergent between uses.
    • Make sure there is an adequate supply of water, soap and disposable paper towels on the truck.
    • Place hand sanitizer in multiple places to promote hand hygiene.

Where can I get more information?

Stay informed. Talk to your employer, manager, or union representative who is responsible for responding to COVID-19 concerns. For more information on worker exposure to COVID-19, use these sources:

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