ARR: The heat is on

Austin Resource Recovery is taking steps to protect its workers from the sweltering heat, asking customers to take their trash carts to the curb no later than 5:30 a.m. on collection day. As the agency explains, the change “allows operators, or sanitation drivers, to begin collecting recycling, composting, trash, large brush and bulk items one hour earlier, helping to prevent them from performing collections during the hottest hours of the day.” That’s not the only adjustment ARR has made in the interest of worker safety: The number of mandatory 15-minute breaks each driver must take – called stand-downs – has increased from two to four each day. The city suspends its no-idling policy during these times so drivers may cool off in their vehicles. ARR employees also take “yearly heat awareness training ahead of the summer months,” so they can be informed of the best ways to stay hydrated and keep cool.