Dive Brief:

• The Town of Paradise in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, will test a robo-garbage collection pilot program with a goal of cutting down on workplace injuries and messes left behind from uncovered garbage. 

• The city has issued a tender for two trucks, with an option for a third. Each truck will cost around $375,000 in Canadian dollars.
• Mayor Dan Bobbett said he doesn't foresee any job losses with the switch. 

Dive Insight:

Robotic trash collection is gaining steam in the area. The City of Mount Pearl's garbage trucks were outfitted in 2012 with robotic arms that lift plastic trash carts off the ground and directly into the storage section of the trucks, cbcnews reported.

And the City of St. John's voted last month to speed up the implementation of automated garbage collection. ​

Paradise is also focusing on worker safety, in what can be a hazardous industry that includes injuries and accidents — including fatalities.

"One of the things we're hearing about now, and the City of St. John's talks about it as well, is slipping on ice in the winter time and the fall," Bobbett said. "You won't have the injuries with the lifting and twisting and throwing garbage in the open area of the truck."