AGC Recognizes Top Performers in Inaugural Hard Hat Recycling Challenge

AGC would like to recognize its members that excelled in the association’s first annual “Used Hard Hat Recycling Challenge” and welcomes others to follow their example.  For America Recycles Day, celebrated on Nov. 15, 2013, AGC debuted a new challenge for members to retire old and unsafe hard hats.  If you missed the 2013 event, put it on your 2014 calendar so you’re ready next time around. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"4581","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-19049 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"202","height":"300","alt":""}}]]Celebrated every year on Nov. 15, America Recycles Day is a national initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States.  This past year, and the first year of AGC’s challenge, there were several top member participants in the 2013 inaugural challenge.  Pepper Construction recycled or repurposed over 150 hard hats; Koontz Electric Company opened up their collection to cover all plastics in addition to hard hats; and the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University collected 80 hard hats.  Other companies that committed to the challenge include Kiewit Corporation, Magruder Limestone, SCI Engineering, TC Construction Company and UCI-Wichita KS. This new initiative blends AGC’s commitment to worker safety and the environment -- hard hats can fade, turn brittle and weaken to the point that they compromise workers’ safety.  During the month-long challenge, AGC encouraged members to take the pledge, set up collection bins at job offices and work sites and then send the old, unsafe items to a recycling center. Put America Recycles Day on your 2014 calendar to be ready to participate in AGC’s Used Hard Hat Recycling Challenge this year.  All you will need to do is retire and recycle any hard hats that are unsafe to wear.  Stay tuned for more information as the 2014 event nears. OSHA Rules on Hard Hat Expiration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's rules on hard hat expiration are based on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines for personal protection equipment. ANSI statute Z89.1-2009 requires particular information to be permanently printed inside each hard hat, including the date of manufacture. The longest a hat should be in service is four to five years from date of manufacture, according to the manufacturer's guidelines. Read more at http://www.ehow.com/list_6100977_osha-rules-hard-hat-expiration.html#ixzz2rocih8fW. For more information, please contact AGC’s Melinda Tomaino at tomainom@agc.org.