Canadian Waste Management has been fined $50,000 for failing to better protect a worker who was injured in December 2020 while reaching into the hopper of a waste collection truck in Stratford, Ont.

The worker had used a plastic snow brush, taken from the trash, to move a garbage bag that had fallen behind a ram that was pushing the waste. As they reached into the truck to grab the bag, their jacket was caught in the machinery.

While the worker and their supervisor noticed that a safety plate was missing earlier in the day, the supervisor allowed the work to continue with a warning to keep hands away from that area of the truck, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development says.

The company violated Section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by failing to ensure that exposed moving parts were guarded to prevent access.

The penalty, in addition to a 25% victim fine surcharge, comes following Canadian Waste Management’s guilty plea in Provincial Offences Court on March 23.

Those who collect refuse and recyclables face what has been recognized as one of the most dangerous jobs in trucking.