With summer and school vacations quickly approaching, Waste Management of New Jersey asks parents to take a minute to speak with their children about safety around garbage and recycling trucks while playing outside.

“Our drivers enjoy meeting and talking to our customers when they’re out on their routes, but we ask that everyone greet them from a safe distance – such as the porch or the front yard,” said John Wohlrab, government relations director for Waste Management of New Jersey. “Children can be curious about our trucks, and even though it may seem like our vehicles are stopped, they have a lot of moving parts that at any point could begin moving again. Safety is a top priority for us, and keeping our customers and drivers safe is job number one.”

Waste Management provides these tips to be safe around vehicles:

• Make sure you and your children know when service vehicles are in the area. Garbage trucks, recycling vehicles, postal vehicles and other package delivery services keep regular schedules within each neighborhood.

• It takes service vehicles about twice as long to stop as a passenger car, so you should never cut in front of or stop suddenly in front of one. Always keep a proper cushion space between you and a truck.

• Vehicles like Waste Management trucks make frequent stops and often back up, so let your children know not to follow the truck closely on a bike, skateboard or skates.

• Our trucks are equipped with a back-up alarm. Whether you are walking or driving near one of our trucks, if you hear this sound or see the white back-up lights, be sure to move out of the way of the truck.

• Keep your children and pets at a safe distance from the truck. Never get near or climb on the truck. Do not play or stand in or around trash bins or cans, since you may not know when the truck is coming to empty them.

• Do not attempt or allow children to help with loading any garbage into the truck. In addition to moving truck parts, debris can come out of the truck when its contents are being compressed.

about waste management

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also one of the largest residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com.