For nearly 50 years, our family business has been protecting the health and safety of our communities by providing sound environmental collection and disposal of trash and recycling.
Now more than ever, our company is needed to help combat the spread of illness. We are taking additional steps to ensure the safety of our employees as well as our customers.
The COVID-19 situation has been evolving rapidly and workplaces like ours, have been trying to keep up with new information about how the disease can spread. While the consensus remains that respiratory transmission is the highest and most common risk, new research began circulating last week that also raised ongoing concerns about surface transmission.
The findings, published by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicates COVID-19 can live on materials such as cardboard and plastic, in some cases for as many as three days. This has prompted us to alter our current collection policies.
We have an automated system and have instructed our drivers to remain in their trucks as much as possible. They have been instructed not to leave their vehicle to collect anything additional beyond what customers have thrown in their toters. There will be no collection of any loose items outside of your trash and recycling toters. All trash must be bagged and put in your designated trash toter. This reduces employee exposure to items like used tissues and other personal hygiene products. Recycled items should continue to be placed in your designated recycling toter as well. If you have cardboard, we ask that you cut it up into pieces and place in your toter or break down the boxes and lay flat under the lid on top of the toter. Please call the office to schedule a bulk item pick-up.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow sanitary protocols recommended by the CDC as well as OSHA. Our employees have been instructed to follow proper hand washing and sanitizing. We are also reinforcing our employees continue to wear required personal protective equipment, including gloves and protective eye wear.
Our commitment is to people, our employees, their families, and our customers come first. We know removing waste is essential to the health and safety of our community and we will continue to do everything we can to do so while find ways to keep people safe. We will continue to update you as more information becomes available. Right now, we ask for your patience and understanding as we all work together to get through this.
To our employees, to our customers, to our healthcare workers and first responder, Thank you!