Torrential downpours followed by days of high humidity has caused certain public services in Covington to rethink their schedules in order to better accommodate workers.
The City of Covington is recommending that residents set out their trash and recycling carts the night before trash pickup so that collectors can begin picking up trash an hour earlier.
“Residents should see little change in their service,” Covington Neighborhood Services Director Brandon Holmes said.
Covington and Rumpke have reached a mutual agreement to allow the waste management company to begin residential and commercial collection at 6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. on certain days.
The effort, in large part, is to protect the workers at Rumpke from heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
“They have a physically demanding job that gets worse when the temperatures soar, so we think this is a reasonable request that will help keep them safe,” Holmes said.
Earlier start times would kick in when the OSHA Heat Index is forecast to hit 103 degrees, which is expected throughout this week. The Index takes into account not only air temperature, but relative humidity. It was designed by the U.S. Department of Labor as a guide for companies with employees who work outside in hot weather.
