Abstract
Background
Waste pickers make a living by recovering recyclable material, and they are primarily unsupported and lack proper health and safety protective measures. Waste pickers are exposed to hazards that expose them to significant occupational and health risks, such as injuries due to being trapped in processing equipment, being hit by trucks on the road or on landfill sites, being burnt by fires, being injured by broken glass, being exposed to needles that are infected, and being exposed to medical waste. Waste pickers work through some of the most trying circumstances to assist with waste management, such as being stationed at a landfill site or on the streets. These individuals are exposed to several health risks that may be detrimental to their health and well-being. The majority of waste pickers do not wear PPE when handling or sorting waste, exposing themselves to various hazards resulting in detrimental health risks such as injuries, respiratory illnesses, and infections. The overall objectives of the study were to identify occupational injuries in waste pickers working on landfill sites in Johannesburg and assess the relationship between risk factors (socio-demographic, safety hazards, and occupational health and safety measures) and occupational injuries.
Methods
Data for the study was collected from a secondary data source (National Institute for Occupational Health database). A semi-structured questionnaire with questions on sociodemographic background, self-reported exposures, and injuries sustained by waste pickers was used to conduct interviews with 361 conveniently selected waste pickers. A data extraction form was utilised in this study to gather information necessary to respond to the study's objectives. The data extraction form covers the various injuries to which waste pickers were exposed to as well as risk variables that could make injuries at landfill sites more likely. The data was then subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis using IBM SPSS version 28. Frequency tables were used to identify occupational injuries, and a multivariable logistic regression was applied to discover the risk factors significantly related with occupational injuries at landfill sites.
Results
The study's findings have shown that workers who collect waste at landfill locations may be at risk for occupational injuries due to a variety of exposures. The majority (73.2%) of the study's participants were male; women made up 26.8% of the study's participants. Most of the participants in the study (46.3%) were between the ages of 18 and 30, while 32.8% were between the ages of 31 and 40. The level of education varied across the two sites. After those with a secondary education (77.6%), participants with a primary education made up the second-highest number (16.7%). There were small proportions of those with a university degree (1.4%) and those without formal education (4.2%). Most study participants at Sites 1 (82.8%) and 2 (53.2%) have a secondary education, followed by individuals with only a primary education (12.0% at Site 1 and 38.7% at Site 2). Tertiary education made up less than 2% of the population at both sites (Site 1: 1.4% and Site 2: 1.6%). Regarding earnings from waste picking, most participants earned between R501 and R1000 in average monthly income, followed by those who made between R1001 and R1500. At both landfill sites. Cuts and
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lacerations were more common (Site 1: 60.2%; Site 2: 71.2%), followed by injuries brought on by breathing in poisonous gases (Site 1: 47.5%; Site 2: 48.3%). Both sites had a high percentage of waste pickers who reported experiencing trips, slips, and falls; Site 1 had a rate of 31.4% and Site 2 had a rate of 27.1%. Waste pickers who have previously sustained cuts from the items they handle when sorting and managing waste on the landfill sites are four times more likely to sustain wounds than waste pickers who have not, with 95% CI (AOR: 4.33, 95% CI 1.77 – 10.62). Regarding other exposures, such as getting injured while falling on a landfill site, statistically significant differences between those who have and those who have not been hurt were discovered, with a p-value of 0.01 (AOR:1.84, 95% CI 1.14 - 2.97). With a p-value of 0.00 (AOR: 2.06, 95% CI 1.22 - 3.47), statistical significance was discovered between study subjects who had worked on the landfill site and had handled paint. Compared to waste pickers who did not handle any paint, those who handled paint while working on the landfill site had a twofold higher risk of experiencing injury.