Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
47
result(s) for
"Refuse collectors."
Sort by:
Sanitation workers help us
\"Introduces pre-readers to simple concepts about the sanitation workers using short sentences and repetition of words\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Assessment of ergonomic risks among refuse collectors in municipalities of Harare District, Zimbabwe
The study was carried to give a comprehensive overview of different types of ergonomic risks among refuse collectors at Chitungwiza Municipality of Harare District. Descriptive cross-sectional design was used to collect data during the study because it applies both quantitative and qualitative techniques. During the study data was collected using observations, questionnaires and interviews as well as secondary data sources. Generally, 100% of the refuse collectors who participated as questionnaire respondents indicated that they are exposed to musculoskeletal disorders notably muscular strain, shoulder pain and back injuries. Poor lifting techniques, manual loading of waste, awkward postures and carrying of heavy loads were indicated as factors which expose refuse collectors to ergonomic risks at Chitungwiza Municipality in Harare. Causes of ergonomic risks raised by the respondents of the study causes the paper to put attention on measures used to manage risks at the municipalities. Safety training, medical examination and induction were some of the measures used to manage ergonomic risks raised by the refuse collectors. Based on the findings of this research paper, several recommendations were provided notably, continuous training and education, regular health monitoring, improvement of work organisation and collaboration and stakeholder engagement.
Journal Article
Self-reported fatigue and health complaints of refuse collectors
Working as a refuse collector is a physically strenuous activity. The aim of the investigations in this work was to evaluate the fatigue and subjective complaints of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among refuse collectors. The study involved 27 employees; average age: 32.1 years (SD = 3.15), seniority: 2.67 years (SD = 1.56). To evaluate fatigue a modified 30-piece questionnaire with a Borg scale was used. MSDs were measured by the Nordic Standardized Questionnaire with the Borg scale. After work, the highest rates of fatigue were reported for the symptoms: “feel thirsty,” “give a yawn,” “want to lie down,” “feel strained in the eyes,” “feel a pain in the back,” “become drowsy,” “feel stiff in the shoulders,” “feel heavy in the head” and “have a headache.” There was a high intensity of MSDs reported for the body segments “shoulders/upper arms,” “lower back,” “upper back,” “hips/upper legs,” “head/neck,” “elbows/forearms” and “wrists/hands.” Complaints regarding limited mobility due to MSDs at work and outside of work have been observed for the “shoulders/upper arms,” “lower back” and “upper back.” Refuse collectors complained more about “drowsiness and dullness” than the “projection of physical impairment” and “difficulty in concentration.” Discomfort occurred primarily in the upper segments of the body and made staff mobility difficult both at work and after work. The test results can be used in the prevention of fatigue and discomfort. It is recommended to conduct training on the correct ways of performing work and resting and the repair or replacement of faulty containers.
Journal Article
Empire of Scrounge
“Patrolling the neighborhoods of central Fort Worth, sorting through trash piles, exploring dumpsters, scanning the streets and the gutters for items lost or discarded, I gathered the city's degraded bounty, then returned home to sort and catalogue the take.”
—From the Introduction
In December of 2001 Jeff Ferrell quit his job as tenured professor, moved back to his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, and, with a place to live but no real income, began an eight-month odyssey of essentially living off of the street. Empire of Scrounge tells the story of this unusual journey into the often illicit worlds of scrounging, recycling, and second-hand living. Existing as a dumpster diver and trash picker, Ferrell adopted a way of life that was both field research and free-form survival. Riding around on his scrounged BMX bicycle, Ferrell investigated the million-dollar mansions, working-class neighborhoods, middle class suburbs, industrial and commercial strips, and the large downtown area, where he found countless discarded treasures, from unopened presents and new clothes to scrap metal and even food.
Richly illustrated throughout, Empire of Scrounge is both a personal journey and a larger tale about the changing values of American society. Perhaps nowhere else do the fault lines of inequality get reflected so clearly than at the curbside trash can, where one person's garbage often becomes another's bounty. Throughout this engaging narrative, full of a colorful cast of characters, from the mansion living suburbanites to the junk haulers themselves, Ferrell makes a persuasive argument about the dangers of over-consumption. With landfills overflowing, today’s highly disposable culture produces more trash than ever before—and yet the urge to consume seems limitless.
In the end, while picking through the city's trash was often dirty and unpleasant work, unearthing other people's discards proved to be unquestionably illuminating. After all, what we throw away says more about us than what we keep.
eBook
Donkey without a tail
Trash collecting may sound dismal, but in this film, shot in Rio de Janeiro, the people featured are undaunted, and proud of their survival skills. They make their living picking through trash in search of recyclable material and are popularly known as donkeys without a tail. This occupation traces its roots to the job of garrafeiro, or \"bottle collector.\" Portuguese immigrants to Brazil made their living pushing wooden carts down the street to collect bottles (thus their nickname bears the allusion to pack animals.) The early immigrants sold only bottles and other containers that could be re-used. Today trash collectors work with a wide variety of materials; plastics, glass, iron, copper, paper, and cardboard. By following the daily route of five of these energetic collectors we come into contact with one aspect of urban life in Brazil.
Streaming Video
ASSESSMENT OF MUSCULOSKELETAL LOAD IN REFUSE COLLECTORS
The aim of this work was to assess the load on the musculoskeletal system and its effects in the collectors of solid refuse. The rationale behind this study was to formulate proposals how to reduce excessive musculoskeletal load in this group of workers.
The study group comprised 15 refuse collectors aged 25 to 50 years. Data about the workplace characteristics and subjective complaints of workers were collected by the free interview and questionnaire. During the survey the photorecording of the workpostures, the distance and velocity by GPS recorders, measurements of forces necessary to move containers, energy expenditure (lung ventilation method), workload estimation using the Firstbeat system and REBA method and stadiometry were done.
The distance walked daily by the collectors operating in terms of 2 to 3 in urban areas was about 15 km, and in rural areas about 18 km. The most frequent musculoskeletal complaints concerned the feet (60% subjects), knees, wrists and shoulders (over 40% subjects). After work-shift all examined workers had vertebral column shorter by 10 to 14 mm (11.4 mm mean).
The results of our study show that the refuse collectors are subjected to a very high physical load because of the work organization and the way it is performed. To avoid adverse health effects and overload it is necessary to undertake ergonomic interventions, involving training of workers to improve the way of their job performance, active and passive leisure, technical control of the equipment and refuse containers, as well as the renegotiation of contracts with clients, especially those concerning non-standard containers.
Journal Article
Garbage dreams
Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys - Adham, a bright precocious 17-year-old; Osama, a charming impish 16-year-old; Nabil, a shy artistic 18-year-old - born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. It is a world folded onto itself, an impenetrable labyrinth of narrow roadways camouflaged by trash; it is home to 60,000 Zaballeen (or Zabbaleen), Egypt's \"garbage people.\"
Streaming Video
