Paul Tepania collects the rubbish by hand in Green Bay, Waitakere City. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
Civic leaders are being urged to spare a thought for the strained backs and cut hands suffered by rubbish collectors who have to manhandle refuse bags from kerbside to truck.
Collectors want councils to stop calling tenders for contracts which specify manual collection of rubbish bags on the
streets.
Government agencies will also be asked to support the waste management industry's preference for contracts stipulating wheelie bins, which are mechanically lifted.
At a health and safety workshop, Envirowaste company officials showed staff injury figures were far higher for manual collection of bags compared with bins.
The company said that during its Dunedin City contract, using bags and recycle crates, 17 "runners" suffered 261 injuries during strenuous seven-hour days in which they lifted a total of 1.5 million bags. This worked out at 62 injuries a year compared with two injuries a year for truck-based operators on East Auckland wheelie bin collections.
In North Shore City, where a change to wheelie bins is under consideration, council staff figures show contractor Onyx reported 72 injuries in 2006-07. No injuries were reported for the city's household recycling collection service, which uses mechanically emptied wheelie bins.
Bags are collected too low to the ground and then thrown on the run into the hopper above waist or shoulder height. Companies also point out hazards for their runners who may fall on uneven and slippery ground or off the steps of a moving truck, often in poor light and heavy traffic.
An industry-wide effort is under way to get a clearer picture of the national injury toll.
Accident Compensation Corporation claims are mostly for lifting, carrying and strain injuries and those caused by twisting movement, loss of balance, slipping and tripping.
In Auckland, Enviroway director Paul Bishop said the industry was pushing a change to mechanically lifted containers because it was not only safer but also a more tidy, hygienic and efficient method.
The industry says it has no accurate figure for the difference in price between bin and bag collections because of varying local requirements.
