Essential Measures to Ensure the Safety of the Waste Management Workforce

 

The COVID-19 outbreak has profoundly impacted the UK and several countries around the world. Almost all countries are going through lockdown situations. The containment restrictions are getting stricter with every passing day. The waste management is one sector which is in action to secure the health and welfare of the community. Utmost care should be taken in conducting all the waste collection and disposal measures. This is important to prevent the spread of the disease. All the companies offering services like skip hire and waste removal in Gravesend are always in action.  They are working towards making the process smooth and effective and per the instructions given by the government bodies.

What is the Present-Day Approach?

 

• Collection and treatment of household waste.
• Collection and treatment of healthcare waste.
• Maintaining a procedure for treating the hazardous waste.
• Maintaining a procedure for incineration and landfilling of non- hazardous waste.
• Maintaining a procedure for separating the household waste as much as possible in different categories like paper, glass, cardboard, packaging, and so on.
• Maintaining a procedure for treating the hazardous waste.
• Maintaining a procedure for sorting the household wastes collected from different sources.

The waste management professionals are among the ‘essential personnel’ right now and are in the likes of other professionals like doctors, nurses and other frontline workers struggling against the spread of Coronavirus. The waste collection drivers and every other worker dealing with waste processing are no exceptions. They are indeed playing a significant role to help communities stay safe and healthy.

When the world is observing complete lockdown and strictly practising the social-distancing and isolation norms, they are the ones still at work.  They are moving from one place to another to collect, recycle, and dispose of all the wastes being generated. They are highly under threat of contracting the disease, but that doesn’t make them escape their duties. They are bravely shouldering the Herculean task of keeping society safe and healthy. That’s the reason; you should be careful and act responsibly to ensure their safety. Here are a few precautionary measures to be considered to ensure the safety of the critical service workforce.

A few tips communities must consider to safeguard the interest of the essential personnel

 

Bag the Trash Meant for Landfills:  The wastes including used tissues, masks, gloves should be adequately bagged. This will keep the virus away from the critical service employees.

Keep the Recycling Clean and Loose:  It is easier to conduct the procedures on trash disposal line if the recycling measures remain clean and loose. Removal of liquid and food residues from the wastes to be recycled minimises the spread of the virus to some extent.

Empty All Liquids: The liquid wastes might contain the virus, and while the driver or other waste management personnel are handling them, it might get splashed on them, making them prone to the infection. Hence, you must make sure that all the bottles and containers should be emptied before they go into the skip bin or the trash cart. Thus, the risk gets minimised to a great extent.

Wipe the Handles and Lids with Sanitisers/Disinfectants: The lids and the handles of the bins are the major touchpoints for the collection and disposal personnel. So, it is essential that all such points, including the exterior surface of the skip bins, should be wiped clean with a sanitiser or disinfectant solution.

Seal and Mark All the Trash: It is a must to mark all the wastes from the quarantine facilities or use of a patient discreetly for identification. Thus, they will be handled extra cautiously. Extra effort should be put in packing them in double-layered bags and seal them tight so that there is no chance of any spillage. The sharp objects like needles and syringes should also be wrapped individually and marked well. All such trash used during isolation or by patients suffering from the virus should be kept aside for at least 72 hours before they are put with other households wastes to be collected.

Affordable Skip is a notable name among the companies offering skip hire in Northfleet or rubbish removal in Gravesend. They are playing their part with efficiency to keep their employees, families, neighbours, and the community at large. It is their highest priority during these trying times.