Effectiveness of health and safety training for municipal waste collectors: a case study from Galle, Sri Lanka

Municipal waste collectors are exposed to numerous hazardous substances during the process of collection, transportation and the disposal of municipal solid wastes, resulting in occupational health and safety risks including mortality and morbidity. An efficient and safe municipal solid waste collection system is vital to protect the environment, the community and the workers involved. Therefore, a training module was developed based on the needs analysis, and after conducting a series of training and awareness programmes, personal protective equipment was distributed to all the 115 municipal waste collectors in Galle Municipal Council, the provincial capital of Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of those project interventions. A questionnaire survey, key informant discussions and expert observations were used as primary data collection tools, while secondary data were gathered from various reports. Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices (KAP) questionnaire was used to evaluate the conditions of 115 municipal waste collectors before and after conducting the training programme and distributing the personal protective equipment. The interventions made by conducting the training programme described in this study had effectively created a significant improvement in knowledge, attitude and practices of the respondents (p < 0.05). Personal protective equipment distributed has resulted in an increase of dignity among the waste collectors giving them recognition by both Galle Municipal Council and the general public of the area.