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Sanitation worker in a hi-vis orange shirt rubbing hand cleaner into his hands beside a green refuse truck at dawn

Waste Management

Hand cleaner for waste management crews

Trash, grease, chemicals, sun and bugs, and the route doesn’t wait. Collection, landfill and transfer-station crews get their hands dirtier than almost anyone, often miles from a sink. We make heavy-duty hand care that cleans it off, kills germs and keeps skin from cracking.

Shop the route kitSamples for your crew
R&R LOTIONUSA

What a route does to your skin

Waste work is rough on hands and skin

Clean hands are the first line of defense on this job. Here’s what gets in the way, and what helps.

Problem 01

Grime and germs, no sink

On the truck or at the landfill there’s rarely running water close by. A waterless cleaner that wipes off with a towel gets grease and germs off before lunch.

Skin care do’s and don’ts →
Problem 02

Harsh cleaners crack skin

Solvent degreasers take the grime and the skin’s oils with it. Cracked hands sting, slow you down and are harder to keep clean.

Glove safety and compatibility →
Problem 03

Sun, heat and bugs on the route

Collection crews are outside all day. UV, heat stress and mosquitoes at the landfill are part of the shift, so sunscreen and repellent belong on the truck.

Protecting outdoor workers from UV →

The route kit

Clean up, sanitize and protect on the truck

A waterless cleaner for the cab, a micro-scrubber cleaner for the yard sink, sanitizing cream for break time and sunscreen for the route.

All hand cleaners →
IC Antibacterial Waterless Hand Cleaner with Micro Scrubbers
CleanIC Antibacterial Waterless Hand Cleaner with Micro ScrubbersNo-rinse cleaner: apply, scrub, towel off. Removes tar, oil, grease and carbon while BZK helps remove germs.From $7.49Add to cart · $8.098oz. · other sizes
IC Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner
WashIC Heavy Duty Hand CleanerMicro-scrubber hand cleaner for the yard sink. Strips grease and grime and helps eliminate germs while you wash. Solvent-free.From $8.49Add to cart · $8.498oz. · other sizes
IC Hand Sanitizing Cream
SanitizeIC Hand Sanitizing CreamAlcohol-free sanitizing cream that kills 99.99% of germs while it moisturizes and protects skin.From $7.35 ★★★★★ (6) 4.4 on Amazon · 1,305 ratingsAdd to cart · $9.998oz. · other sizes
I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36
ProtectI.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36. Hybrid broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection, 80 minutes sweat and water resistant.From $8.15 ★★★★★ (8) 4.3 on Amazon · 269 ratingsAdd to cart · $19.508oz. · other sizes

Also for the crew: I.C. Insect Repellent Lotion · I.C. Insect Repellent Spray · I.C. Advanced Repair Hand Cream · I.C. Sunscreen Lip Balm · I.C. Ivy Block

Fleet mechanic in the shop

For safety & fleet managers

Put hand care on every truck

Waste crews handle trash, sharps and chemicals, and OSHA sets rules for many of those hazards. Clean hands help crews follow them. Tell us how many routes and yards you run and we’ll send samples for the crew.

Request samplesTalk to our team
R&R LOTIONUSA
99.99%Of germs killed, I.C. Hand Sanitizing Cream
No waterWaterless hand cleaner wipes off with a towel or rag
SPF 36Broad spectrum, 80 minutes sweat and water resistant
8 hrsEPA-registered IR3535 protection from mosquitoes and ticks

On the route

Made for every shift

Washing up at the yard shop sink with a gallon of I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner
Shop and yard
I.C. Waterless Hand Cleaner on a service truck for fleet maintenance
Fleet maintenance
Collection truck driver cleaning his hands in the cab between stops
Cab clean-up
Landfill operator in hi-vis applying sunscreen beside a compactor at sunrise
Landfill
Sanitation crew scrubbing their hands at a yard sink, garbage trucks behind
Yard sink

Field Notes

What a collection route does to your skin

Five short animated chapters: the work, the exposure, what happens in the skin, why we built the product, and how to use it on the job.

Education, not medical advice. Your safety program and each product’s label come first. If your hands crack, bleed or won’t settle down, or you get a cut or puncture on the job, report it and see a clinician.

CaptionA day on the route: sun from the first stop to the last, grime and germs on every can and bag, and no sink on the truck.

01 · The work

Every can, every stop

  • Germs
  • Grime

Collection crews grab can after can, all route long: trash, grease, leaking bags and whatever chemicals got tossed in. Landfill and transfer-station crews work in it all shift. And on the truck or at the landfill, there’s rarely running water close by.

Then there’s the outside part of the job: hours of UV and heat on the route, and mosquitoes around standing water at the landfill.

UV is strongest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is the middle of a route.R&R Lotion, Skin Cancer: Causes, Prevention and Treatment white paper (2024), Skin Cancer Prevention

CaptionGrease and grime coat the skin with germs mixed in. Sanitizer squirted on top lands on the grime, not on the skin underneath.

02 · The grime

Germs ride in the grime

  • Grime and grease
  • Germs
  • Sanitizer
  • Skin’s own oils

Clean hands are the first line of defense on this job. But a squirt of sanitizer over greasy, grimy hands doesn’t do much. The grime has to come off first.

The usual fix, a harsh solvent degreaser at the yard sink, takes the grime and the skin’s own oils with it. The skin’s outer layer, the stratum corneum, is skin cells held together by those oils and lipids, like bricks and mortar.

Hand sanitizer doesn’t work well on hands that are visibly dirty or greasy.CDC, When and How to Wash Your Hands

CaptionWith the mortar worn thin, moisture escapes and the skin cracks. Grime and germs work into the cracks, and the skin underneath reddens.

03 · What develops

Cracked hands are harder to keep clean

  • Water escaping
  • Grime
  • Germs

Keep stripping skin with harsh cleaners and the barrier breaks down. That’s irritant contact dermatitis. It starts as redness, itching and dryness, and it can progress to cracking and blistering.

Cracked hands sting and slow you down on the route. They’re harder to get clean, and cracked skin gives germs a way in.

Sources: R&R Lotion blog, Understanding Occupational Dermatitis and I.C. Hand Lotions (2023) and Protecting Healthcare Workers from Contact Dermatitis (2022). If cracks bleed, blister or spread, get them looked at.

CaptionThree places to clean up on a route: the cab, with a waterless cleaner you towel off; the yard sink, with a heavy-duty scrub; and break time, with an alcohol-free sanitizing cream.

04 · Why we built it

Built for the truck and the yard

Route crews need to get grime off with no sink nearby, a cleaner for the yard sink that’s strong enough for grease, and a sanitizer they’ll actually use on hands that are already rough.

I.C. Antibacterial Waterless Hand Cleaner

For the cab. Apply, scrub with the micro scrubbers, towel off. Removes grease, dirt and grime without water. Made with benzalkonium chloride to help remove germs from your hands. Cleans, sanitizes, remoisturizes.

See the waterless cleaner →

I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner

For the yard sink. Tough on grime, tough on germs. Micro scrubbers work into the creases and around the nails to lift grease, oil, tar and grime, and benzalkonium chloride 0.13% helps eliminate germs while you wash. No silicones, lanolin or mineral oil.

See the hand cleaner →

I.C. Hand Sanitizing Cream

For break time. An alcohol-free hand sanitizer to decrease bacteria on the skin, made with benzalkonium chloride 0.13% in a cream base with shea and sunflower butters. Rub it onto hands until absorbed.

See the sanitizing cream →

I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36

For the route. Broad spectrum SPF 36, 80-minute sweat and water resistant. A hybrid: non-nano zinc oxide plus organic UV filters, with no avobenzone. A lotion, not a spray, and it rubs in clear.

See the sunscreen →

I.C. Hand Sanitizing Cream is dermatologist tested: a 50-subject patch test with zero reactions.ALS / BioScreen, FDA-registered lab, Study 22-522A (2022)

CaptionFour moments on a route: the pre-trip, every two hours, before you eat, and at the yard at the end of the day.

05 · On the route

When to use what

  1. 1
    Pre-tripSunscreen 15 minutes before you’re out in the sun, applied liberally to the neck, ears, face, forearms and the backs of your hands.
  2. 2
    Every 2 hoursReapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours, after 80 minutes of sweating, and right after you towel off.
  3. 3
    Before you eatIn the cab: waterless hand cleaner. Apply, scrub, towel off. Then sanitizing cream, rubbed in until absorbed.
  4. 4
    End of the routeHeavy Duty Hand Cleaner at the yard sink, rinse, and dry your hands well before you head home.

Follow each product’s label directions and your safety program. Landfill crews near standing water: add I.C. Insect Repellent Lotion, an EPA-registered IR3535 repellent for mosquitoes and ticks, up to 8 hours.

Waste crew hand care Samples for your crew
Sources
  1. R&R Lotion, Skin Cancer: Causes, Prevention and Treatment, white paper (2024).
  2. CDC, When and How to Wash Your Hands.
  3. I.C. Antibacterial Waterless Hand Cleaner label and Drug Facts (benzalkonium chloride 0.13%; use: hand washing to decrease bacteria on the skin).
  4. I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner label (benzalkonium chloride 0.13%; “Kills Germs”; Micro Scrubbers; no silicones, lanolin or mineral oil).
  5. I.C. Hand Sanitizing Cream Drug Facts (benzalkonium chloride 0.13%; use: hand sanitizer to decrease bacteria on the skin); ALS / BioScreen, Human Repeat Insult Patch Test, Study 22-522A, November 2, 2022.
  6. I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36 Drug Facts (zinc oxide 7.02%, octinoxate 6.00%, benzophenone-3 4.70%, octisalate 4.00%); AMA Laboratories, SPF and 80-minute water resistance study, Lab No. N-0479 (2013).
  7. Understanding occupational dermatitis and I.C. hand lotions (2023).
  8. Protecting healthcare workers from contact dermatitis (2022).
  9. The do’s and don’ts of skin care products in industrial settings (2023).
  10. Protecting outdoor workers from UVR exposure (2023).

Learn

Skin and safety articles for waste crews

Plain-English guides on industrial hand care, sun, heat and bugs for outdoor crews.

All articles →
Jan 2023 · Hand careThe Do’s and Don’ts of Skin Care Products in Industrial SettingsRead →Jul 2023 · SunProtecting Outdoor Workers from UVR Exposure: The Imperative of Proper PPE and Sunscreen UseRead →Aug 2022 · HeatOutdoor Workers and HEAT STRESS – Recognize, Prevent and TreatRead →Feb 2023 · OSHAOSHA Guide to Working Outdoors in Warm ClimatesRead →Oct 2024 · RepellentUnderstanding Insect Repellent Active Ingredients: What Outdoor Workers and Safety Managers Need to KnowRead →

Join the crew

A community of the trades

Pick your work. We’ll send what’s useful for your job: plain-English guides, seasonal reminders and invites to short webinars for crews and safety managers.

Coming soon

Be the driver your crew listens to

We’re building an ambassador program for the people crews already listen to.

  • Your own code to share with your crew
  • A seat at our webinars, with early product news
  • Samples for the trailer, the unit or the shop

Join the crew and you’ll be the first to hear when it opens.

Field notes for your trade

Articles and webinar invites matched to the work you do. A few emails a month.

Questions waste crews ask

Hand care for waste management: FAQ

How do I clean my hands on the route with no water?
Use I.C. Antibacterial Waterless Hand Cleaner: apply, scrub and towel off. The pumice scrub lifts tar, oil, grease and carbon, and BZK helps remove germs. No rinse needed.
Will a heavy-duty cleaner dry out my hands?
I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner is solvent-free and alcohol-free, with skin conditioners to soften hands and help prevent drying.
Does the sanitizing cream really kill germs?
Yes. I.C. Hand Sanitizing Cream kills 99.99% of germs, and it’s alcohol-free, so it moisturizes instead of drying.
What do you recommend for sun and bugs on the route?
I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36 (broad spectrum, 80 minutes sweat and water resistant) and I.C. Insect Repellent with EPA-registered IR3535, which protects against mosquitoes and ticks for up to 8 hours.
Can we get samples for our crews?
Yes. Request free samples for your yard. You can buy through your distributor or on GSA.

Skin care that cares about the worker and about the work

Try it on your crew first.

Free samples for safety and fleet managers. Buy through your distributor or on GSA.

Request samplesFind a distributor
Four smiling crew members on a pickup tailgate with I.C. Industrial Sunscreen, Insect Repellent Spray, Ivy Block and Ivy Cleanse, a 32 oz sunscreen pump and two foil pack boxes

Other trades we make skin care for

Arborists & LandscapingBioscience & LabsConstructionDentistryEducationElectronics & ESDFirst RespondersFleet & MechanicsFood ProcessingGeneral ManufacturingHospitalityMilitary & VANursing HomesOfficeOil & GasUtility & ElectricalVeterinaryWater TreatmentWelders