The National Waste & Recycling Association and Together for Safer Roads recently announced the initial group of companies that will be participating in a safety program designed for small and midsize waste haulers.
The FOCUS on Fleet Safety Training Program is an existing initiative for TSR, a national trucking safety organization. This builds on an existing partnership between NWRA and TSR, which dates back to 2020. While smaller waste and recycling organizations have participated in the past, this marks the first time the program has been specifically tailored for a cohort of waste companies.
The FOCUS program — which stands for “fairness, openness, capability, unity and sustainability” —is intended to provide practical guidance for companies with fleets of 100 trucks or less.
“By transcending mere compliance, it empowers participants to enact lasting change, ensuring safer roads and transformative impacts within their organizations,” said Kirk Sander, chief of staff and vice president of safety and standards for NWRA, in a statement.
Participating companies include:
- Anchor Disposal in Clayton, North Carolina
- Balcones Resources in Austin, Texas
- Carolina Trash & Septic in Angier, North Carolina
- KAL Services in Pella, Iowa
- Liberty Disposal in Hampstead, North Carolina
- Rio Grande Waste Services in El Paso, Texas
- Sanico in Delaware, New Jersey
- Troiano Waste Services in Portland, Maine
- Walter’s Recycling & Refuse in Blaine, Minnesota
- West Central Sanitation in Willmar, Minnesota
The program covers topics such as building a safety culture, working with drivers, collecting and assessing data, selecting technology and executive coaching.
“We recognize the essential role independent haulers play in ensuring safer roads, and we’re dedicated to equipping this segment with the tools and resources they need for a safer waste and recycling industry,” said Peter Goldwasser, executive director of TSR, in a statement.
The waste and recycling industry’s core collection worker occupation still has one of the 10 highest fatality rates in the U.S. The industry has made progress in recent years, and NWRA’s largest members continue working to lower their own total recordable incident rates, but smaller companies are seen as one of the biggest opportunities for improvement.
Kerri Mead-Bell, president of Anchor Disposal and the NWRA Women’s Council, said that she sees a clear need for the industry to engage more with these smaller companies.
"99% of independent haulers are in the truck driving the truck, so they're not able to be here,” she said during a May 8 session at WasteExpo.
Mead-Bell said it’s less common for smaller companies to have dedicated safety managers and noted that incoming NWRA CEO Michael Hoffman is interested in finding more ways to support independent haulers. The safety record of these companies becomes relevant for major companies if and when they acquire smaller competitors, but it’s also seen as part of improving the overall industry’s reputation.
"We really need some way to help them out, and I think the bigger companies need to be responsible for it,” said Mead-Bell. “They have a lot more resources than we do. They want to get out of the top 10 as well, so what better way than to help educate us."
Disclosure: WasteExpo is run by Informa, the owner of Waste Dive’s publisher, Industry Dive. Informa has no influence over Waste Dive’s coverage.
