Ergonomic interventions among waste collection workers: A systematic review

Waste collection workers are frequently exposed to significant occupational hazards. Even though ergonomic interventions can mitigate these occupational hazards, only a few studies have attempted to study the importance of the interventions. The current review identifies the gaps in ergonomic interventions among waste collection workers. A systematic review and a bibliometric analysis of the literature on the assessment of occupational hazards and ergonomic interventions in different countries were performed to identify the scope of the interventions. A literature search was carried out in Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus for articles published until December 2018. The search yielded seventy articles on the assessment of occupational health and ten articles on ergonomic interventions among waste collection workers. Based on the review, this paper proposes a hierarchical framework for the implementation of ergonomic interventions in waste associated occupations. The problems faced by formal and informal waste collectors are critical, particularly in developing countries and there is a growing need for low-cost interventions. It is suggested that the potential interventions have to be implemented based on the nature of occupational hazard considering social, cultural and economic factors.