2020-03-30 09:00 Share:  Facebook Instagram

The changed life of waste handlers: we cannot be infected

The changed life of waste handlers: we cannot be infected

From Friday, the vehicles of the hazardous and non-hazardous waste management facility Žalvaris returning from the waste collection points to the company's warehouses enter only after a full-fledged disinfection procedure. All of the company's cars entering into and leaving customer facilities are thoroughly sprayed with disinfectant.

Vitoldas Sapožnikovas, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, says that after the announcement of the quarantine in Lithuania due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the company had to react suddenly and adapt to the changed working conditions, substantially adjust the usual customer service process and take all possible security measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

"When the virus spreads, waste handlers work in even higher risk conditions, but we are the ones who can be infected in no way. If at least one person were diagnosed with COVID-19, all those working in the waste collection, removal, sorting process would have to be quarantined and the company would be shut down. In the event of a disruption to operation of waste handlers, in addition to the current risks, we would have additional, no less complicated ones. Therefore, the reality is that we simply cannot get sick," V. Sapožnikovas explain.

Is waste management a necessary or desirable public service?

Experts from the United Nations Environment Program last week called on governments to consider waste management, including medical, household and other hazardous waste, as an urgent and necessary public service to reduce potential knock-on effect on human health and the environment during the pandemic.

In Lithuania, waste management is not recognized as a necessary service – one that cannot be stopped in any situation. Therefore, according to V. Sapožnikovas, even the slightest mistake in the activities of waste handlers can cause a large chain reaction.

"No less important is the fact that after the quarantine was announced, business life did not stop. For example, the representatives of food industry and food retailers are currently working by the skin of their teeth and are among the main drivers of the country’s economy, and both of these fields are closely related to waste management, therefore, they would experience a significant disruption of operation, which would probably also affect consumers if our normal business processes were interrupted," V. Sapožnikovas points out.

According to the CEO of Žalvaris, after the quarantine came into force, the company immediately adjusted the customer service procedure to protect its employees and customers: at present, natural persons are no longer served in the branches, and the business clients are provided with waste removal services only according to a pre-agreed schedule, reducing the frequency of waste collection as much as possible.

Employees were warned in advance

The company's employees received the first message about possible virus threats from the administration on February 28, when the first case of infection was officially recorded in Lithuania.

"Even then, we informed our colleagues working in the administration that those who want to protect themselves are given the opportunity to work remotely, and those who stay in offices and warehouses will be provided with special measures – disinfectant soap, wipes, liquid hand disinfectant. The drivers were provided with face masks, which had already become in great deficit at that time," the CEO of the company says.

He notes that with the entry of the quarantine into force, the opportunity to work from home became a request – all administrative staff were advised to stay at home, not to go to the company's offices, unless absolutely urgent. More than half of 130 employees of the company currently work in this way.

“From the point of view of work organization, we are a mobile team, and the relationship between management and colleagues is based on the principle of trust. Under normal conditions, a few days a week we work from offices in different cities, so the reorientation to the remote working regime was not the biggest challenge for us," V. Sapožnikovas says.

According to him, personal security measures have been taken in respect of employees of all divisions of the company, including those who are unable to perform work at home due to the specifics of the work. Warehouse workers, loaders, drivers are allowed to shorten work schedules, and after completing the necessary tasks to go home earlier. Although much attention is paid to the prevention of the spread of the virus, the CEO of Žalvaris admits that the protection of service staff and warehouse workers in the context of the virus remains probably the biggest challenge.

"We are a waste management facility, so hygiene in our warehouses will never reach a laboratory level. Nevertheless, in this context, we try our best to protect workers, loaders and drivers as much as possible. We encourage even everyone in the warehouse wearing protective gloves to take more frequent hand washing breaks, keep a safe distance of 2 meters when working, do not get together, ventilate and clean the premises. And now, when we have purchased a sufficient amount of special liquid for spraying equipment and vehicles, we hope that we will be able to implement virus prevention to the maximum, in order to protect not only our people, but also our customers," V. Sapožnikovas notes.

The CEO of the company says that disinfection of 27 trucks is planned to be performed regularly, and special attention will be paid to cars that will reach the company's warehouses from areas that may have become the virus outbreaks, such as Ukmergė and its surroundings.

Agree
Cancel