SWANA announces 2017 Safety Awards winners

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has announced the winners of the 2017 SWANA Safety Awards, selected by SWANA’s technical divisions and the SWANA safety committee for their excellence in solid waste safety.

This year, SWANA expanded its Safety Awards program and selected winners based on SWANA’s seven technical divisions, as well as an overall winner. These companies and local governments have championed safety within the solid waste sector in the United States and Canada and demonstrated profound commitment to improving workplace safety, the association says.

The 2017 SWANA Safety Award Division Winners are:

Collection & Transfer Division

Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program – Biggest Safety Improvement

McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing – Best Safety Innovation

Communication, Education & Marketing Division

Lakeshore Recycling Systems – Biggest Safety Improvement

Landfill Gas & Biogas Division

DTE Biomass Energy – Best Safety Innovation

Landfill Management Division

city of Vancouver – Best Safety Innovation

Sustainable Materials Management Division

Maryland Environmental Services – Biggest Safety Improvement

Hamm Waste Services – Best Safety Innovation

2017 SWANA Safety Award Overall Winner

Hamm Waste Services – “5S Implementation at Hamm Material Recovery Facility”

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive the SWANA Overall Safety Award for our safety systems at the Hamm Material Recovery Facility in Lawrence, Kansas,” says Charlie Sedlock, director at Hamm Waste Services. “Protecting our employee team members is the most important thing we do each day at Hamm.”

The overall award-winning entry detailed the innovative application of the 5S visual system to reduce employee exposure to hazards while also lowering operating costs. Hamm Waste Services provides safe and responsible waste transport, single-steam processing, and disposal services to communities in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

SWANA says it is a leader in the effort to move the waste collection industry off of the federal government’s list of 10 most dangerous jobs; this awards program, along with numerous other safety initiatives, including the award-winning Chapter Safety Ambassador Program and the “5 to Stay Alive” campaign, are important steps in that direction. 

SWANA would like to thank PRECO, the official sponsor of the SWANA Safety Awards program, for its support.

Awards will be presented to the winners during the ISWA World Congress & WASTECON 2017 Sept. 27, 2017, in Baltimore.

For information on the 2017 SWANA Safety Awards, visit swana.org/safetyawards.