ORANGE, Jan. 4, 2006 - Waste Management of Orange County’s Orange Transfer Station this week will celebrate the achievement of 1,000 days without a lost-time injury, meaning its 15 full-time employees and three temporary employees have worked safely for more than 8,500 total hours without any injuries that prevent employees from returning to work for at least one full shift.

Nov. 22 marked the 1,000th day, and on Friday, Jan. 6, the company’s local managers will celebrate the employees’ accomplishment with a special luncheon for them. The facility’s previous long-term period without a lost-time injury lasted two years.

“Going 1,000 days and counting without a lost-time injury is a testament to our employees’ careful actions and commitment to safety in performing their jobs,” said Alberto Guardado, District Manager with Waste Management of Orange County. “Everyone benefits from our safe work environment – the employees, their co-workers, their families, our customers and the community.”

The Orange Transfer Station has a number of company-developed safety programs in place, which provide training and incentives to encourage safe behavior. Chief among these programs is the Waste Management Operations and Safety Rules Book, which trains all employees who come in contact with the company’s trucks or work at a disposal site – including drivers and other equipment operators, helpers, mechanics and sorters – in how to work safely, the “Life Critical Rules,” which are the top 10 safety mandates of the company, and the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) program, which provides appropriate safety gear like reflective vests, boots and gloves, for employees in different roles. Additional training is also administered when potential problems are detected and sometimes involves instruction by third-party medical or safety specialists.

Incentive programs include the safety bingo game, which allows employees to collect numbers on a bingo card based on the number of days the facility goes without a lost-time injury – providing cash prizes to the winners – carne asada cookouts when safety milestones are achieved, and drawings for prizes like sports or amusement park tickets or home entertainment items for employees who exhibit safe behavior.

“The employees at the Orange Transfer Station encounter a number of variables in their jobs – whether dealing with moving equipment, directing large trucks or other vehicles through the facility, sorting through waste and recyclables processed at the facility or maintaining our trucks and equipment – so achieving this milestone is a great accomplishment,” said Steve Lopez, Safety Manager for Waste Management’s San Diego/Orange County Market Area. “We look forward to reaching even greater goals with regard to employee safety.”

Waste Management, Inc. is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. For more information about recycling, log onto www.wm.com.

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