Waste and Recycling Workers Week Approaches
/Whether they are out in the hot Georgia heat working on the landfill, quickly and safely picking up 500 cans recycling, or meeting you at the convenience center to help you get in and out, our waste and recycling workers in Whitfield are critical to creating a clean and healthy environment for us to live in.
Dalton Whitfield-Solid Waste Authority announced today that it has joined with the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) Georgia Chapter in celebrating 2022 Waste & Recycling Workers Week. This year Waste and Recycling Workers week is June 12-18, 2022. This week-long awareness effort is focused on solid waste workers as superheroes.
The theme this year is “Solid Waste Workers are Superheroes!” The past theme has been “Essential, Not Invisible” to highlight the often unseen and unappreciated hard work these men and women do. This year, we are focusing on the dangers they face each day and the difficult condition they often work in to keep our environment clean, safe, and healthy.
Participation in the Waste & Recycling Workers Week means that Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority has joined with the SWANA Georgia Chapter and other municipalities, organizations and companies throughout the state, committing to elevating the status of solid waste management workers, and thanking them for keeping us safe and healthy.
We are proud to participate in this state-wide effort as we come together to ensure that solid waste workers are recognized as superheroes that protect our health and shield the environment against the evils of unmanaged waste.
Do you want to get involved to show your appreciation? Consider dropping off a small gift at your local convenience center or greeting your driver with a cold bottle of water. You could also bring a thank you card or tape one to your trash or recycling can for your pickup driver. If you have children, helping them make their own cards can help teach them the importance of showing their appreciation and valuing hard and often sometimes dirty work.
Don’t have time to pickup a gift or make a card? Just greet the workers and say your thanks the next time you see them or give the office a call with a thank you or a compliment. A little kindness can go a long way to show that you are aware of their everyday efforts.
SWANA-Georgia Chapter plans to feature solid waste workers throughout the state on its website gaswana.org and social media accounts during this week. Last year, Junior Dill from the Dalton Recycling Center was featured so be on the lookout for any familiar faces this year!
“Solid Waste Workers may not be able to bend steel with their bare hands or leap tall buildings in a single bound but they collect trash, recycling and compostables in all types of weather to protect our health and safety. Solid Waste Workers may not fly around in an invisible jet but are skilled Commercial Drivers and Collectors that are employed in the sixth most dangerous profession in the United States. Solid Waste Workers are TRUE superheroes,” said Suki Janssen, SWANA-Georgia Chapter President.
SWANA-Georgia Chapter wants to bring awareness to protect solid waste workers and elevate the importance of the tasks they perform for Georgia residents. SWANA-Georgia Chapter wants to thanks all solid waste workers for staffing landfills, transfer stations, recycling centers, driving trucks, and picking up litter. If you would like to know more about Waste & Recycling Workers Week or SWANA Georgia Chapter please visit, gaswana.org or visit SWANA-Georgia Chapter on Facebook.
The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority will also be sharing special photos and conducting a virtual Storytime for children on their mascot, Recycling Ben’s, Facebook page. You can tune in throughout the week to learn about what happens to our trash and waste behind the scenes and about the people that make it happen!