Dive Brief:
- The fatality rate for waste and recycling collection workers decreased slightly in 2024, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The category was ranked the fifth deadliest occupation in 2024, with 37.4 fatalities per 100,000 employees. That’s compared to a rate of 41.4 in 2023, when it was ranked fourth deadliest.
- In 2024, BLS counted 36 fatalities in the broad “refuse and recyclable material collectors” category. There were 32 fatal occupational injuries in 2024 in the related “solid waste collection” subcategory, 23 of which were linked to transportation incidents. That’s compared with 35 solid waste collection deaths in 2023 and 31 in 2022.
- Deaths at MRFs fell slightly from nine in 2023 to eight in 2024, with four of those fatalities considered transportation incidents. BLS also reported nine fatalities from the broad waste treatment and disposal category.
Dive Insight:
The latest fatality data shows a year of improvement for the waste sector, though industry groups say continued efforts in training, adoption of safety technology and wider worker awareness could help get the industry off the top 10 list of most dangerous jobs.
The industries with higher fatality rates than the waste industry in 2024 were logging; fishing and hunting; roofing; and structural iron and steel, according to BLS data.
“While this data release shows some improvements from the prior year, it is clear that we have a long way to go in improving worker safety. Waste and recyclable materials collectors perform vital work that safeguards public health and the environment, and their lives must never be the cost of doing that work,” said SWANA CEO Amy Lestition Burke in a statement.
David Biderman, president of Biderman Consulting, called the slight fatality rate improvement “welcome” news, but added that “this is no time for anyone to be taking any victory laps. Local governments, haulers, and the larger solid waste companies need to all continue focusing on worker safety and compliance,” he said in an email. He listed ongoing industry efforts such as improved coaching, new technology, and “holding employees accountable for unsafe behaviors.”
These methods may also help prevent injuries in the industry: solid waste workers experienced higher injury rates in 2024 compared to the previous year, BLS noted in injury data released in January.
Just as the waste collection sector experienced fewer fatalities in 2024, BLS recorded an overall 4% decrease in fatalities across all U.S. sectors in 2024. There were 5,070 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2024, down from 5,283 in 2023 and 5,486 in 2022.
The overall fatality rate was 3.3 fatalities per 100,000 full-time employees, down from 3.5 in 2023.
Transportation incidents continue to be the most frequent type of fatal event across industries, BLS said, making up 38.2% of all occupational fatalities in 2024. The total number of fatal transportation incidents decreased slightly, however: BLS counted 1,937 in 2024 compared with 1,942 in 2023.
Fatality rates also declined among Black workers as well Hispanic or Latino workers in 2024.
