AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN
REGION II
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND
THE SOLID WASTE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Region II and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA, SWANA, and the SWANA New Jersey and New York State Chapters hereby form an Alliance to provide SWANA members in New Jersey and New York, other solid waste professionals, and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help to protect workers from health and safety hazards present in all aspects of the solid waste industry, including collection, processing, and disposal.

The Alliance will work to reduce and prevent exposure to transportation hazards, such as backovers and distracted driving; slips, trips, and falls; needlestick injuries; heat and cold stress; musculoskeletal injuries; and other topics, as appropriate, with particular emphasis on outreach to small and medium sized employers.

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance's activities. Alliance participants also agree to meet the "Fundamental Requirements for OSHA Alliance Program Participants" and the "Guidelines for OSHA's Alliance Program Participants: Alliance Products and Other Alliance Projects."

Through the Alliance, the organizations will use available fatality, injury, illness, and hazard exposure data, when appropriate, to help identify areas of emphasis for Alliance awareness, outreach, and communication activities. The Alliance will also explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In developing this Alliance, OSHA and SWANA, and the SWANA New Jersey and New York Chapters recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and On-Site Consultation Program partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort, and that information about the products and activities of the Alliance may be shared with these partners for the advancement of common goals.

Raising Awareness: Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Share information on OSHA’s National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach), and opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process.
• Share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and SWANA conferences, chapter meetings, or other events.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on solid waste industry hazards to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.
• Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding the solid waste industry’s best practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).
• Encourage worker participation by establishing a safety and health advisory committee of non-management level employees from different public and private organizations to share information about workplace rights and responsibilities, gather information about safety and health practices in industry facilities, assist in the development and implementation of Alliance work products, and collect feedback on Alliance activities.
• Encourage SWANA members and industry stakeholders to build relationships with OSHA's Regional and Area Offices; participate in OSHA's Cooperative Programs, such as the Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program and the Voluntary Protection Program; and utilize OSHA's On-Site Consultation Program to improve health and safety in solid waste workplaces.
• Collaborate with other Alliance Program participants to address workplace safety and health issues, such as needlestick hazards in waste and recycling collection and processing.
• Encourage worksites with SWANA presence to build relationships with OSHA’s Regional and Area Offices to address health and safety issues, including transportation-related hazards.

Training and Education

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Develop effective training and education materials for collection, processing, and disposal workers in the solid waste industry on topics including transportation hazards, such as backovers and distracted driving; slips, trips, and falls; needlestick or other puncture injuries; heat and cold stress; musculoskeletal injuries; permit-required confined spaces; biological and chemical hazards; and other solid waste industry hazards.
• Promote the value of safety and health programs in improving safety performance and to communicate such information to constituent employers and workers.
• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of training courses relating to the implementation of safe work practices while engaged in collection, disposal and processing activities.
• Through worker participation, develop effective training and education programs for the solid waste industry to promote understanding of workers’ rights, including the use of the OSHA complaint process, and the responsibilities of employers and to communicate such information to workers and employers.

OSHA’s Alliances provide organizations an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA’s initiatives, outreach, communications, training, and education. These Alliances have proven to be valuable tools for both OSHA and Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with an organization, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that organization’s products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet two to four times per year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the OSHA’s NY Regional Office and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plans' and OSHA On-Site Consultation programs' participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Either signatory may terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days’ written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the written concurrence of all signatories.

Signed this 14th day of April, 2022.