SWANA reports worker fatality increase in 2022

workers on a sorting line at a MRF — Photo from Recycling Today Photo Archive

Published March 06, 2023 | Updated March 08, 2023

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, reported an increase in worker fatalities in 2022 in the United States and Canada after a drop in 2021. For 2022, 46 solid waste industry worker fatalities were recorded by SWANA compared with 28 the year before.

“SWANA is disappointed by the nearly 65 percent increase in worker fatalities experienced in the industry last year,” SWANA Executive Director and CEO David Biderman says. “The 2022 data is a reminder that we need to make sure that safety is a core value across all lines of business, in collection, postcollection and maintenance, and at small and large companies and agencies in both the public and private sectors.”

According to data provided by SWANA, public sector workers represented a large percentage of fatalities in 2022 compared with previous years. About 35 percent of all solid waste workers killed last year worked in the public sector. SWANA says the average was around 21 percent over the past four years.

Collection jobs remained the leading type of work for fatal incidents. The most common cause of collection worker fatalities is employees falling off trucks or being struck by trucks. Being struck by a third-party vehicle remains the third leading cause of death for collection workers, followed by crashes with other vehicles.

Postcollection and maintenance activities both saw a large increase in fatalities in 2022, representing the bulk of the rise in worker deaths from 2021, according to SWANA. Fatal incidents at material recovery facilities (MRFs) jumped from one in 2021 to seven in 2022. Fatalities at landfills increased from five to eight in 2022.

Maintenance also contributed to the rise in worker fatalities in 2022, with four killed while working on trucks. Three of these incidents involved working on or around hydraulics.

The association says mechanical-related fatalities led the list of fatal events for the first time since SWANA has tracked this data. In addition to truck maintenance, work on and around shredders, balers, compactors and other equipment led to 11 worker deaths in 2022. Single-vehicle crashes were again the second leading cause of fatal incidents.

Looking at worker fatalities month by month, overall trends of a spring and then a summer spike followed by a decrease through the end of the year continue to hold. SWANA says the 2022 data is unusual because fatalities dipped in June. The previous three years saw a drop in May, followed by a spike in fatal incidents in June. However, a spike did occur later in August.

In addition to worker fatalities, SWANA tracks events in which a member of the public is killed in a solid waste-related incident. After several years of increases, pedestrian fatalities are down compared to 2021 but still higher than in earlier years. Fatal incidents involving bicyclists also jumped significantly in 2022 compared to 2021, when there was only one recorded, according to data provided by SWANA.

Texas, California and New York remain on the list of the top five states with the most fatalities in 2022. Florida and Pennsylvania join the list this year, replacing Ohio and Georgia from 2021. SWANA says these states represent more than 40 percent of all fatalities in 2022. Three fatalities occurred in Canada in 2022, with one in Ontario and two in British Columbia.

SWANA says the first goal in its “Strategic Plan: Forward, Together” is getting collection workers off the list of the 10 occupations with the highest fatality rate. In 2022, collection worker fatalities increased from 22 to 25. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS') most recent report for 2021, collection workers are seventh on that list, an improvement compared with previous years.

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SWANA reports worker fatality increase in 2022

Still relying on manual sorters?

Still relying on manual sorters?

Still relying on manual sorters?

Still relying on manual sorters?

Still relying on manual sorters?

Still relying on manual sorters?

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SWANA reports worker fatality increase in 2022

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