The back end of the garbage truck devoured the old, brown couch like a 5-year-old massacres a celery stick. The sofa—a nostalgic, 70’s blast-from-the-past, cracked, and withered—disappeared as the garbage truck used its awesome power and rear-end loader to shove it into its mouth.
From the safe vantage point of an 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue, watching this dismantling is cathartic.
The Waste Management employees—driver Rick Beasley with assistance from Route Manager Ted Hollingshed—diligently whipped the edifice’s waste into the butt of the monstrous green vehicle. Hollingshed—a former Waste Management driver—didn’t miss a beat in helping Beasley, even though he now works in Waste Management Corporate.
“It’s funny what kind of misconceptions you’ll hear about Waste Management drivers and garbage men in general,” Beth Schmucker, Waste Management Community Relations Manager, says from the back seat.
“They’re capable men who have been rigorously interviewed and trained to drive our company trucks.”
From watching and talking to Beasley and Hollingshed, any misconceptions about sanitation engineering seem moot.
“When people see garbage men they think it’s much dirtier of a job,” Beasley says.
Beasley mentions this before I follow him on his Athens route. He had been picking up trash since 4 a.m. His uniform is barely scuffed from the five-and-a-half hours of work he had already put in that day.
“People think it would smell bad—I was one of those people—but it’s not near as bad you think,” he says.
Beasley is a well-kept man in his early 40s. He’s donning a neon-yellow vest and brown boots. His sunglasses reflect my image as he affably explains the areas where he picks up trash.
“On Mondays I serve Greenfield, Tuesdays I serve Athens, Wednesday I go into Nelsonville, Thursday I go into Albany and Friday I serve The Plains.”
While serving each community, Beasley says there are differences between collecting trash in rural settings as compared to urban areas.
“When you’re in the city, it’s just so much quicker. In the country, it’s more driving and you’re trying to fit on these narrow, country roads. In the city it’s all about trying not to hit anything, so safety is the most important aspect about collecting trash in the city,” he says.
In the matter of an hour-and-a-half, I know more about sanitation engineering than any journalist should.
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the largest waste management company in North America. Its signature green “W” and golden “M” can be found roaming the streets from Los Angeles to Toronto to San Juan (although, ironically, they do not service the Ohio University campus).
Waste Management is leading the way in transforming waste usage in the industry. The company is starting to employ methods to not just store our waste, but also put it to use.
“Waste Management is very involved in waste energy,” Hollingshed says. “We’re one of the leaders. We’re starting to pick up the methane gas that comes up off our landfills and use that to provide power to different places. Rather than just burning it off, we’re using that gas and re-routing it into energy.”
Along with being the largest processor of waste in North America, Waste Management is also the largest recycler. Coupling with the company’s sustainability goals, Waste Management hopes to double its processing of recycled goods from seven million tons to 14 million tons by 2020.
Re-using landfill sites are also a top priority of the company.
“We are also involved with the Wildlife Habitat Council,” Schmucker says. “We’ve got 49 of our sites that are certified by the council, so we’re providing habitats for local, native wildlife and we’re reusing our land for uses other than what people conventionally think landfills are used for.”
Before following Beasley on the job, Hollingshed and Beasley recount tales of trash collections that have garnered odd discarded items. Although Waste Management collects and processes a myriad of objects, some things Waste Management cannot handle.
“The oddest thing I saw in the trash was a college student,” Hollingshed mentions. “Lucky for him, it was a rear-load dumpster, so we saw him before dealing with the trash.”
-Obama's on Letterman. True.
God Is Love,
Rev Rub
