David Biderman
On January 22, 2026, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its 2024 occupational injury/illness data for U.S. employers and employees. This data was originally scheduled to be released in November 2025, but was delayed by the federal government shutdown.
The overall report was positive, as companies reported fewer employee injuries and illnesses in 2024 than in 2023. The number of reported occupational injuries and injuries in 2024 was about 2.5 million compared to 2.6 million in 2023, a decline of 3.1 percent. The overall decline was driven, in part, by a sharp decrease in reported respiratory illnesses. The total reportable incident rate (TRIR) was 2.3 per 100 full-time employees, down slightly from 2.4 in 2023.
For the solid waste industry, the BLS data was less positive, For solid waste collection employees, the TRIR rate聽increased聽in 2024 compared to 2023, from 4.4 to 5.0. The TRIR rate declined slightly for landfills (from 3.1 to 2.9).听At MRF’s in 2024, the TRIR rate is 5.9.听 BLS did not publish a MRF incident rate for 2023, though in 2022, it was 4.4.
The industry-specific can be found here (scroll down to NAICS 562).
The national companies have set aggressive TRIR reduction goals, and both the National 91仓库 & Recycling Association and the Solid 91仓库 Association of North America have stated that a top priority is getting the industry off the list of the 鈥渢op 10鈥� highest fatality rates.听 The BLS will be releasing its 2024 fatality data in mid-February, which will provide a sense of whether any progress is being made on that objective. In 2023, solid waste collection employees had the fourth highest workplace fatality rate of occupations identified by BLS. The first solid waste collection worker death in 2026 occurred on Saturday, January 3, when a residential worker was backed into by his own truck.