These are also important examples of how we can work together to make waste-collection safer. The industry has also collaborated with the BIC, advocates and labor on a safety manual and videos. That prompted joint planning about safety for customers of both the nightclub and the facility - to everyone’s benefit. Inspections show private garbage trucks are full of dangerous infractionsĬonsider one example: Last year a nightclub opened near a waste-transfer station. Having trash-hauling folks, who know the issues the best, work with public agencies, transportation advocates and other industries is essential for sharing knowledge and problem-solving. Second, we should avoid the politics and agree to commit to collaborative efforts going forward, even if that means tougher rules for the industry. The best next steps? First, a focus on safety should mean ensuring more training, taking full advantage of new technology, including onboard cameras, and improving the overall culture so that every employee understands and is committed to safe practices. DSNY reports approximately 2,500 garbage-truck-related incidents a year - 150 of which cause injuries to one or more people, including DSNY employees - but comparable private-sector data are not yet available. The BIC also recently adopted new rules to improve reporting and accountability regarding vehicle-related incidents in the private sector. The event was co-sponsored by several trade associations and the city’s Business Integrity Commission, which regulates the industry. Last month, the city’s private waste-service companies gathered for their fifth semi-annual workshop on industry safety. The good news: Many in the industry are already taking a collaborative approach. And it’s not even clear such a system would offer the benefits (e.g., fewer trucks on the road, fewer accidents) promised by its supporters.Ī wiser approach is for the city to work cooperatively with all the parties, sharing ideas and figuring out what makes sense and can be rolled out quickly to improve safety. Even if a zone system were adopted now, for example, it wouldn’t go into effect until 2022, at the earliest. In any case, it’s pretty clear the city’s proposal is not the best way to boost safety quickly. Business owners worry such a system could limit their choice of carters, reduce competition and, in general, make it harder for them to dispose of their trash. Sanitation’s controversial proposal would - unilaterally, in effect - reorganize private-sector waste collection under a geographic zone system that many businesses fiercely oppose. Alas, that is the approach the city’s Sanitation Department has too often taken: It has politicized the issue, citing private-hauler-caused deaths to advance its proposal for commercial waste zones. Yet these tragedies shouldn’t be used as political fodder to promote agendas that have little to do with safety. Private trash-hauling trucks have also seen deadly accidents over the years. 11, the DSNY truck allegedly made an illegal turn at a Brooklyn intersection, fatally striking a man in a crosswalk. Cyclist critically injured by sanitation truck amid city crackdown
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