Occupational hazards of solid waste collectors (Malawi)

Solid waste collectors play an important role in sustaining health and hygiene in every country but the face daily risks leading to high rates of occupational health problems. The knowledge of solid waste collectors on occupational hazards and their utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Mzuzu City Council remains inadequately addressed. Solid waste collectors in Mzuzu City Council are not trained regularly on occupational hazards and they are provided with limited number of PPEs. The used a qualitative method, purposively recruited 15 solid waste collectors and 2 Mzuzu City Council officers. Focused group discussions and in-depth interview were used to collect data which were analyzed through content analysis, involving coding with a predetermined codebook, and themes were grouped into subgroups. The findings revealed that while most solid waste collectors were aware of occupational hazards, lack of PPE exposed them to risks, such as injuries from sharp objects. Attitudes toward PPE were mixed, with positive emphasis on its preventive role and negative concerns about scarcity and cost implications. Solid waste collectors had challenges in reporting PPE-related challenges they faced. The study recommended Mzuzu City Council to implement on- the-job training to enhance collectors’ hazard knowledge and consider Public- Private partnership to supply personal protective equipment’s to solid waste collectors.