Evaluation of Occupational Health Hazards Encountered During Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling

According to the EPA, over the past 25 years, the percentage of post-consumer waste recycled in the United States has doubled. This valuable material recapture is considered part of the “green” economy and has provided thousands of job opportunities while diverting millions of tons of landfill-destined waste back into the production pipeline. The environmental benefits of this recycling, however, do not come without occupational danger. The industry that has developed to perform this work has one of the highest workplace fatality rates of all occupations in this country. This presentation will review and discuss examples of the myriad health hazards workers performing hand-sorting of post-consumer plastic recyclables may encounter based on industrial hygiene case studies conducted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute's Safety and Health Consultation Program. These hazards include: chemical exposures, high levels of occupational noise, contact with skin and respiratory irritants, and commonly, blood-borne infectious material. Infectious material is often present in the form of used syringes and diabetes-testing equipment that has inadvertently ended up in the recycling stream due to the common practice of using an empty milk or detergent bottle as a sharps collection device during home-based care. This presentation will discuss these various exposures and explore potential controls and solutions to these green job hazards.