Contamination is the single biggest obstacle to operating high performing recycling programs, this series focuses on the Cost of Contamination as it impacts the environment, health and safety, operations and finances.
Loraas Recycle on Hazardous Waste
To shine some light on this, we spoke with Dale Schmidt, the Operations Manager of the Loraas Disposal Material Recovery Facility (MRF), recently acquired by Waste Connections. In today's insight, Dale talks to us about Hazardous Waste.
"You name it, you can probably bet it's come through our facility."
Everyday, front line workers are exposed to hazardous materials coming through recycling facilities. Biohazards such as needles not only pose a material risk to the workers on the sorting lines, it limits their ability to perform the task. The risk of needles is far too great, that they are not permitted to reach under objects, only sorting what they have a sightline of.
Then there are diapers. Dale mentions that once in their history, they had enough diapers to line the highway from Saskatoon to Prince Albert, a distance of 120km. “Not only is this a biohazard, it’s just disgusting” says Dale. Clearly, this is not something these workers should have to handle, but the contents of diapers also contaminate plenty of good recyclables, and the machinery that moves them.
While worker safety is the priority, the safety of the equipment is also a concern. Heavy items that come through, such as alternators from vehicles for instance, not only represent a crush/pinch hazard for employees, they can damage conveyor belts. Damaged equipment is not only expensive to fix, but also results in downtime for the facility.
To hear what Dale has to say, see the full video below:
