City Trash Collectors Work Through Increased Safety Risks Amid Pandemic

Frontline employees of all kinds continue to face the risk of exposure to the coronavirus while working during the pandemic.

For waste management workers, that has meant picking up several more tons of trash each day than normal — sometimes without being provided proper safety equipment by their employers.

Douglas Cruz, a trash collector and Teamsters Local 25 union steward at Capitol Waste Services in Chelsea, spoke with WBUR's All Things Considered about the daily challenges of working in waste management while trying to avoid contracting the coronavirus.