Roseridge Landfill Commission is operated as a partnership between Sturgeon County, Morinville, Legal, Bon Accord Gibbons and Redwater.
The landfill is not funded by residential tax dollars, but by the fees charged for materials brought over the scales by both the municipalities in the partnership, material from other municipalities as well as commercial haulers.
The Commission recently completed a 10-year strategic plan. Part of that plan is a focus on safety.
They have recently launched a series of social media posts reminding landfill users of the importance of keeping children and pets in the vehicle when dropping off materials.
“Roseridge is an industrial site,” said Roseridge Manager Susan Berry. “We have big equipment. We have all kinds of moving parts. We have high traffic volumes. And the regulations require us to not only ensure that our staff are safe and our workers, but the site visitors as well. So we have an obligation to do our best to ensure that visitors who come and use our site are able to leave safely without damage to their property or without injury.”
Barry went on to say the most common occurrence at the landfill is users who allow their children or pets out of the vehicle.
“In a landfill, it’s against the policy to have children out because they get excited, they like to play,” said Operations Foreman Deon Maher, noting that when an operator is operating a machine, they need to look forward 90 per cent of the time to concentrate on what they are doing. “He can see clearly only through the side glass. If it’s a bulldozer, it’s the side glass. It depends on which piece of equipment they are actually in. But no matter what, there is always a blind spot.”
As such, Maher recommends users keep 15 to 20 feet away from equipment at all times when using the landfill.
“When you see equipment, just because you can see them does not mean they can see you,” he cautions. “So it’s always a good practice to just keep a distance.
The video above, produced by Smith Consulting provides a full look at Landfill Safety at Roseridge.
Publisher’s Note: Morinville Online – MorinvilleNews.com is closed this week for the first of two weeks’ summer vacation. This article and others published this week were pre-scheduled prior to our close down. We will resume news coverage on Aug. 3.
