SWANA Announces Winners of 2018 Safety Awards
Awardees to be honored at WASTECON® 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee
Silver Spring, MD – The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is proud to announce the winners of the 2018 SWANA Safety Awards, selected by SWANA’s Technical Divisions and the SWANA Safety Committee for their excellence in solid waste safety.
Winners were selected at the Technical Division-level, and an Overall Safety Award Winner across all categories was also chosen. The applicants this year consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing accidents and injuries through communication, implementing best practices, training, and accident review.
“SWANA’s Safety Awards program highlights top companies, agencies, and facilities who have made excellence in safety attainable through creative strategies and overall commitment,” said David Biderman, SWANA’s Executive Director and CEO. “We hope that the best practices adopted by the SWANA Safety Award winners are considered as models by others in both the United States and Canada as we work towards our goal of creating a safer working environment for the solid waste and recycling industry.”
2018 SWANA Safety Award Division Winners
Communication, Education & Marketing Division
Resource Recovery, City of Alexandria, Virginia - Best Safety Innovation
Lakeshore Recycling Systems - Biggest Safety Improvement
Collection & Transfer Division
South Central Solid Waste Authority, City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, New Mexico - Biggest Safety Improvement
Landfill Gas & Biogas Division
DTE Biomass Energy - Biggest Safety Improvement
Planning & Management Division
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Materials Management Section - Biggest Safety Improvement
2018 SWANA Safety Award Overall Winner
Lakeshore Recycling Systems
Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) won the Overall Safety Award for its “Live Safety” campaign which focuses on educating all employees at every level of the organization, their families, and the entire Chicagoland community, on the importance of the Live Safety principle. By creating a personal culture which instills a lifestyle that chooses safety rather than being told to be safe, LRS has seen a marked decrease in the cost of insurance claims.
“On behalf of all men and women under the Lakeshore Recycling Systems banner, we are honored to be recognized as a leader in instilling safety throughout the industry and general public,” said John Sliwicki, Vice President of Risk Management at LRS. “As an integral part of the waste industry, which remains the fifth most dangerous field in the country, we are proud of the initiatives taken to reduce incidents and raise safety awareness that extends past our organization. By tying the Live Safety message back to our community, family and friends, we are able to foster a mindset that furthers our safety values.”
LRS is the largest privately-held waste company in Illinois and has been serving the Chicagoland area for nearly 20 years. LRS owns and operates seven Material Recovery Facilities, a fleet of natural gas-powered trucks, and is run by a team of 760 full-time employees.
This marks the third year that SWANA has recognized excellence in solid waste safety through the Safety Awards program. The presentation of the trophies will take place at an awards luncheon on August 22 at WASTECON® 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee.
SWANA would also like to extend its deepest thanks to PRECO and JACOBS for their support of the 2018 SWANA Safety Awards.
For information on the 2018 SWANA Safety Awards, visit swana.org/safetyawards.
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About SWANA:
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is an organization of more than 10,000 public and private sector professionals committed to advancing from solid waste management to resource management through their shared emphasis on education, advocacy and research. For more than 50 years, SWANA has been the leading association in the solid waste management field. SWANA serves industry professionals through technical conferences, certifications, publications, and a large offering of technical training courses. For more information, visit swana.org.
