As seen on WasteAdvantage Magazine “COVID-19 and the Impact on Waste Pickup Operations”

Awareness and  Training

The city/waste pickup contractor should have a clear protocol on how to operate the waste department during the COVID-19 outbreak. It should include the measures taken on the management level, as well as the pickup teams as a part of the process. See the sample checklist below. Every team member would be required to participate in a training session (can be done online), and acknowledge participating and understanding the protocol.

The COVID-19 protocol implementation should be enforced as a part of the daily operation. A mechanism can be in place to create a checklist for the teams, which will be implemented before, during and after each round. All checklists will be logged and stored in a central repository to allow monitoring and visibility for the management. Before pickup, consider the following checklist template:

• Confirm sanitary inventory
  • 50 gloves
  • Protective gear
• Confirm each employee’s temperature
• Check for new daily instructions/notifications
• Complete an acknowledgement form of the checklist

Where applicable, teams should receive a notification before approaching infected locations. In such cases:

• Before pickup:
  • Wear protective gear (mask, replace gloves before/after)
  • Have bags ready
  • Alert residents on pickup, requesting to keep distance during pickup
• After pickup
  • Confirm clean area
  • Activate compactor
  • Apply hand sanitizer
  • Replace gloves
  • Wipe surfaces
  • Wipe tablet/phone

Upon round completion, log and document checklist.

Christina Belchere

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