NWRA reminds industry of looming ELD compliance deadline

The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) has issued a reminder that while the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) electronic logging devices (ELD) mandate goes into effect Dec. 17, 2019, NWRA members received an hours-of-service exemption. FMCSA has stated it will not grant any extensions or exceptions to this deadline and the ELD rule will be fully enforced beginning Dec. 17 with no “soft enforcement” grace period. Automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs) will no longer be permitted and must be replaced with fully operational ELDs.

FMCSA announced Nov. 20 that it would grant NWRA a rare hours-of-service exemption exclusively to its members that will eliminate the need for them to use ELDs as otherwise is required under the new rule. Under the NWRA member exemption, the time limit for waste and recycling collection drivers to return to their work reporting location is increased from 12 hours to 14 hours. The daily driving limit remains at 11 hours.

NWRA is providing a list of its current members to FMCSA as proof of exemption from enforcement for those companies. NWRA will also send electronic certificates of membership each year to its member companies for them to print out and carry in their vehicle fleets.

“At this point, companies only have two weeks to either comply with this costly mandate or join NWRA and be covered under our exemption,” says NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith. “In nearly every instance, NWRA membership is the more cost-effective option, as they not only receive the exemption but also all the other benefits of belonging to the association.”

It is estimated that the ELD requirement would have cost NWRA members $116.7 million over two years if the exemption was not made, NWRA says.

According to the Notice of Final Disposition published in the Federal Register Nov. 21, “This exemption is limited to the provisions of 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)(ii) and is available only to drivers for companies that are members of NWRA. These drivers must comply with all other applicable provisions of the FMCSRs.”