May 21
IRA BOARD TELECONFERENCE
The on-site meeting and tour planned at Plastic Recycling of Iowa Falls has been cancelled.
A tour will be rescheduled.
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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
STATUS QUO
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Alan Schumacher, Quincy Recycle
 Congratulations on surviving another month! Is this a theme we’ll have to embrace for some time? It may be in my home, at least. In the past month, my wife Joyce has joined me in working from home. While she works upstairs in our office, I find myself sitting at the kitchen table. Working from home can certainly have some disadvantages such as distractions from the other home-office worker, rural internet deficiencies (two computers working off of one “hot spot”), lack of a potential immediate resolution to a question by walking next door to see your co-worker and maintaining a focus needed to stay on task. Of course, the flip side of this is not being bothered by a pesky co-worker tromping into my office to discuss how terribly their favorite team is playing, our corporate computer server going down … again, receiving an answer to a question that is absolutely incorrect (meaning I should’ve researched it myself in the first place) and the inability to stay on focus due to everything I just mentioned!!
No matter where we work, we have to perform, that’s a given. I used to be one of those naysayers that believed you had to be in the office/cubicle each day to provide the required output for justifying your position. Now, working from home for the last several weeks has really started to change my line of thinking. It’s not a bad gig. Saves hours on the road, saves fuel and prevents wear and tear on your vehicle. Let’s face it, telecommuting (aka telework) can be a great arrangement. I recently read where one in five workers around the globe are telecommuting now. I’ve also seen projections that after the COVID-19 situation, telework will triple.
Obviously this isn’t an option for the frontline workers who have to process and manufacture our commodities. At times like these we are especially grateful for these workers and their dedication! But I see a bright future for telework technology. It reduces the environmental impact we place on our earth, and that I like.
Take care and WASH THOSE HANDS!!
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IDENTIFYING HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS FOR THE RECYCLING INDUSTRY
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AIRBORNE HAZARDS TO SHARPS, AND THE NEW COVID-19 THREAT
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Dr. Catherine Zeman, Professor,
Ph.D. Preventive Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health
Public Health, HRCS and Recycling Reuse Technology Transfer Center, RRTTC
University of Northern Iowa
OUR ESSENTIAL WORKERS DESERVE THANKS
Waste management and remediation can be a hazardous business, but there’s no doubt it’s essential. Look to the steady, orderly removal of your solid waste and recycling materials in the COVID-19 world —essential service. We send our front-line, waste management workers a big thank-you and measure of genuine gratitude for what you do.
And what you do is not without risk. In the Occupational Health and Safety Association (OSHA) 2008 review of fatality rates by industry – covering occupation and demographic variables – waste services had over 5 times the fatality rate of all other industries! OSHA’s Fatal Facts files include tragic examples of how safety failures cost lives: employees backed over by collection vehicles, employees asphyxiated by debris dumped into container trucks. Further, injuries and exposures to toxins and microorganisms create a human toll, even when they do not take a life. That human toll translates into processing/management delays.
With that in mind, what are the safety concerns according to OSHA’s published citation records and fatal-facts directory? And what new challenges have arisen due to COVID-19?
MAJOR SAFETY CONCERNS
Ten categories of health and safety concerns that cut across another eight categories of recycling industries are shown in Figure 1. This does not catch every safety issue, but it does reflect the categories of health and safety that are regulated at a federal and state level by the OSHA and various state regulatory agencies. It also encompasses OHSA’s top five safety citation areas for recycling and recycling-related industries including vehicular and roadway safety issues and unsecured loads, exposure to chemicals and biologicals, nip points on moving machinery, respiratory hazards and repetitive motion injury (RMI).
Use the chart to think about the safety and health hazards that may be part of your facility’s work.
(Click to view larger version.)
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Safety starts with a few individuals meeting each week to discuss premeditated carefulness. OSHA provides insights into ways to avoid dangers and satisfy health and safety requirements, and Iowa Workforce Development provides a safety and health development program.
COVID-19 CONCERNS
OSHA’s COVID-19 guidelines are very general currently and can be found here. They focus on what “all” workplaces can do, then break down workplaces according to the degree of “crowding.” The actions they stress for everyone are: temperature checks, facial masks, and hand washing. Depending on circumstances, they suggest additional engineering (physical barriers, restructuring of processing lines) and administrative measures (staggering of workers) to achieve physical distancing. These will need to be tailored to each individual facility.
UV-LIGHT AND AIR TREATMENT SHOW POTENTIAL
UV-C light has been shown to deactivate the virus on surfaces. In other studies, the virus has been deactivated in air when a UV air treatment and circulation system has been used. Chinese studies have shown that air circulation and quality impact the likelihood of contracting the virus. According to an article in Nature, stagnant air and high levels of suspended particulate matter contribute to spread and increase the likelihood of contracting the virus. Air quality and circulation systems may provide real benefit in reducing the spread of the virus. Numerous companies sell, install and maintain these systems for industrial settings.
Questions? Contact Catherine at catherine.zeman@uni.edu.
SOURCES AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
AirPurifiers and Cleaners.com
Biotechniques.com: UV LEDs for disinfection and potential protection from SARS-CoV-2
Health and Safety Executive: Waste management and recycling
OHSA: Green Job Hazards (OSHA)
OSHA: Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics
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Jason Evans, Director of Education for the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency
 It’s difficult to believe the first Earth Day was celebrated 50 years ago. I was not alive for that celebration, but remember so much focus being placed on protecting the planet in my elementary and middle school years. From messages before and after Saturday morning cartoons to coloring contests at restaurants, it was not just in school where the earth mattered. My kids are getting similar messaging at school now, but have we listened?
Here are a few memories shared by Iowa Recycling Association members about where they were on April 22, 1970 ...
DAVE KLOCKAU:
I was 12 years old, growing up in an industrial area along the Mississippi River. My family believed in “fix it” rather than “replace it.” We bought our pop in bottles and returned cases for the deposit. As the youngest of four, everything was a hand-me-down. One memory of how polluted our rivers had become was while visiting my sister in Washington DC in 1969 and seeing the famous Potomac River where George Washington allegedly threw a silver dollar across. My brother-in-law commented that Washington could have rolled the silver dollar across if he were here that day. It made my beloved Mississippi River look clean.
CATHERINE ZEMAN:
I was only 7 years old on the first Earth Day, so that specific political event was lost on me. However, I used to love fishing and turtling with my grandparents. When I was young, I grew up in a small trailer on the Mississippi River with few monetary resources. Remembering making turtle stew, I now worry what might have been in the turtle meat at that time. My grandparents always made a point of not taking too many or too small of turtles and never took any gravid fish or turtles. Even though I didn’t know it was Earth Day, those messages stuck with me the rest of my professional and volunteer life.
SHELLY CODNER:
I was 2 years old for the first Earth Day. The very first thing I remember about anything earth-related is the commercial with Iron Eyes Cody (“The Crying Indian” at that time) and then later Woodsy Owl telling us: “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!”
Happy Earth Day to all! In celebration it appears we’re regenerating some key resources right now based on reduced human interference. I walked along the creek this morning and the water is so very clear – I could see fish – I have not been able to see fish in that water for years.
ALAN SCHUMACHER:
As a young lad of 10, living on a farm in Iowa County, I remember riding on the fender of our Oliver tractor with my mom, going to the fields to start corn planting. My mother remarked on all the cans and trash in the ditches: “It never used to be this way but now that we have a black top everybody uses, they throw their stuff out the window.” She went on to tell me that it was the first official Earth Day. Her words stuck with me and later that day I went out along the road picking up several bags worth of garbage. The Iowa County Road Department even saw what I was doing and picked up the bags. It was my first Earth Day and now 50 years later we are still in the battle – a battle I share with all of you. We are all warriors in this daily fight.
Happy belated Earth Day everyone! Although it's not belated if we walk the walk daily.
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FALL CONFERENCE CONTINUING AS PLANNED
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The 2020 Iowa Recycling and Solid Waste Management Conference is currently continuing as planned.
We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will be following the recommendations of major public health organizations. Our planning team remains vigilant in these efforts for the health and well-being of our valued attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.
If changes are made to the conference, those will immediately be posted at the conference website.
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7 RIVERS RECYCLING MOVES TO LARGER FACILITY
After years of steady growth, 7 Rivers Recycling (7RR) is moving to a larger facility at 401 Car Street, La Crosse, WI.
7 Rivers Recycling (7RR) has been recycling mattresses since 2014 with regular customers from the Twin Cities to the Greater Milwaukee area. Recycling mattresses is not just good for landfills (landfill operators and owners hate them), it's also good for the environment. Read the report: Mattress and Box Spring Case Study: The Potential Impacts of Extended Producer Responsibility in California on Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions.
7RR is a triple-bottom-line business that would like to replicate it’s facility/operation in Iowa through a public-private partnership and is seeking such a relationship. Can you help? Contact Brian Tippetts at Brian.Tippetts@7RiversRecycling.com.
CAN SHED TO RE-OPEN THURSDAY, MAY 14
Can Shed will be re-opening its Cedar Rapids and Iowa City locations this Thursday. New hours and drop-off procedures are in place. Read the press release to learn more.
Press Release
EPA REQUESTS COMMENTS ON DESIGNATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RECYCLED-CONTENT PRODUCT
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces it is seeking comment on the Agency’s current list of items that are or can be made from recovered materials and its recommendations to federal agencies on purchasing these items. Requested input includes whether the right products are on the list; if any should be deleted, added or modified; and whether the current recycled-content and procurement specifications are appropriate.
More information
DID YOU MISS THE IRA'S APRIL WEBINARS?
Recordings of the following webinars, along with selected presentation materials, are available!
April 8, 2020: Effective Communication and Outreach in the Waste Industry
April 17, 2020: Impact of COVID-19 on Recycling & Waste in Iowa
View archived webinars
DIANE ALBERTSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: JUNE 1
Spread the word!
Applications for this $500 scholarship are due June 1, 2020. Applicants must be a senior or graduate of an Iowa high school and accepted for enrollment as a full-time undergraduate for the 2020-21 school year.
More information
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