EREF research project seeks to improve safety for the waste and recycling industry

The Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) will manage research efforts to improve safety in the waste and recycling industry.

"We appreciate EREF's role as a strategic partner in this project," said Kirk Sander, NWRA chief of staff. "We expect the research will help us identify practices that are working and not working so we can improve our safety posture."

Researchers from the University of South Carolina and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will collect and aggregate data from publicly available databases and other sources. The main goal of the project is to identify factors contributing to worker fatalities and injuries and use that information to develop guidance to improve awareness of safety issues and promote safety. The goal is zero fatalities.

"EREF has long supported a better understanding of solid waste management safety by funding multiple research and educational projects. With support from project grantees USC and UNL, we will gain a better understanding of how safety incidents occur, which can lead to the development of strategies that can further reduce fatalities," said Dr. Bryan Staley, EREF president and CEO.