IamA Garbage Man AMA!

Garbage man, what is the greatest hockey team?

Why i'm glad you asked, the only correct answer is the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lost me here!

LGRW ;oP

Yes I would like one cheese and one pepperoni please

You a cavs fan too?

Hawks!

So this AMA isn't getting a ton of momentum, but I'd still like to thank everyone for the questions and make a PSA if possible.

Please be careful around garbage men. In the past 12 months, 5 workers have been hit by cars- none of the cars stopped. Only one resulted in a lost time injury, thankfully. It's a dangerous industry, and we know you're in a rush to get where you're going, but please try to remember that if a garbage truck is stopped, there is likely a human being outside of the truck focusing on garbage and not you.

We review fatalities every week in this industry. Use common sense when around a garbage truck, we see you before you see us 9 times out of 10, but that one time out of 10 we don't can get someone killed.

Plot twist: the people who don't stop their cars are actually garbage.

I don't disagree with you

Do you wave back at kids who say hello?

Wave back? I make sure to dump my bucket in front of them, honk my airhorn, and stop to chat with them as long as their parents are around and cool with it. Kids fucking love garbage men, and it makes my day 100% better if I can make a kid's day by being an awesome garbage man for them.

In 10 years they'll learn to hate me, but when they're young, kids make garbage men feel like celebrities with the amount of excitement they bring to trash day lol

Thats fucking awesome. No kid will ever wave at a computer monkey like me.

Not with that attitude

Why would they hate you in ten years? Do people hate garbage men?

Kids go from wanting to be you to wanting to throw rocks at your truck pretty quickly after hitting puberty

What's the best gift I can get my garbage guy for being awesome?

Summertime? Water. Winter? Coffee or a hot cup of soup. Or cash. Hell, even stopping for a chat every now and then.

Gloves is another one, i go through a pair of gloves a week, at least. Want to spend big money, a pair of steel toed boots. But simply acknowledging your garbage man exists is a good way to get on the nice list.

Also, we have naughty and nice lists. Im like trashy santa

Alright cool, wasn't sure what you guys could take on shift, our garbage guy is super tight so i was going to try getting him something useful, what kind of gloves you use?

These in the summer, in the winter anything that has a rubber grip and insulated is great. I prefer tight fitting gloves, but you can't go wrong with asking your g man what kind of gloves he wears and picking some up. One guy gave me a nice pair of lineman gloves, leather, waterproof, nice gloves. said they cost 50 bucks, i looked them up and he was being honest. used them once and had to throw them away because they hurt my hands after a few hours. still treated the guy good though, took care of his cans. yeah, best bet is to just ask what they prefer, and if you can't, something with a good grip and form fitting works for most people.

Sweet! Those look pretty kinky haha, ill give them a try, thanks for the tips! (Side question: what's the most annoying reoccurring joke people make when you tell them your job?)

It's not annoying, but the most common one is "garbage man, eh? 50 dollars a day and all you can eat"

Wrong answer! It's sex.

Wait is it too late to change my answer

What kind of cool or crazy shit do you see thrown away?

Everything gets thrown away eventually. Coolest shit? i threw away a 3,000 dollar set of tower speakers 2 days ago. Craziest? A can full of dead animals. Raccoons, yearling deer, cats, etc. Can full of them. Don't know why, don't really care. In the hopper it went.

But i've tossed a bit of everything. Lots of sex toys. You'd be surprised.

Have you ever took something out of a garbage can that you kept?

All the time. Mostly scrap metal. Coolest non-scrap metal thing ive kept? someone threw away like 300 dollars worth of PC parts, a power supply, case, couple decent RAM sticks. Still in the original packaging. No idea why they threw it away, but great find nonetheless.

What are your best and worst expierences on the job?

Worst?

i swallowed a maggot one time, made me throw up

couple minor injuries i had to work through

the weather will make you it's bitch

Best?

The people. I love talking to people, and the people i meet are mostly great.

I get paid to go to the gym. Can't beat that.

thanks man! Enjoy your day!

im enjoying my beer right now lol

this ama is going to get a lot more interesting after a dozen or so

How many rubbish puns do you hear a day?

None today, want to be the first?

Oh, that's just plain garbage. We know you've heard one today...

I refuse to believe it's true.

fucking lol

Eh. Close enough. Have an upvote.

1) Are there faces on your normal route you look forward to seeing every day?

2) Have you ever get flashed by anyone on your route?

3) Are more than 50% of people respectful about your safety in how they pack their garbage? (broken glass for example)

4) Is one arm stronger than the other because of hanging onto the back of the truck?

5) Do you know of any women in your business?

6) Do cats greet you or are they afraid of the truck?

7) Have you ever worked with someone who you felt was probably wanted on a federal warrant in your country or another?

8) Did question 7 sound a bit judgy?

9) Meaghan Trainor - Me Too: yes or no?

10) If you could play music on loudspeakers from the truck, what genre would it be and what is one of your top 10 songs from that genre ?

1. Yup. Tons. I take good care of them. Run their can up their driveway, take shit i'm not allowed to take, etc. I work alone, so i take every opportunity to socialize with everyone who gives me the time of day.

2. Nope. Been offered out on a date a couple times, but I'm married. Always working class women, women in rich neighborhoods wont talk to you unless they're already married, from my experience.

3. No. Most people don't give a fuck.

4. I do one man front load, but the loaders who work the back are pretty ripped in both arms. the amount of strength it takes to hold on between stops is nothing compared to the work out you get lifting 96 gallon toters full of grass bags.

5. This won't be a popular answer, but this isnt a woman's industry. I know of one from a different site. She does recycle. We had two women drivers at our site before i got hired, but they no longer work for the company.

6. Cats are finicky. some greet you, some run. Dogs invariably run to you. Some love you, some bite you. I carry dog treats in the truck.

7. the DOT doesn't fuck around.

8. a bit. that being said, i work with a lot of people with record, myself included.

9. Absolutely not.

10. Id play blues rock, just because it's what i'd want to hear, and people will be pissed off no matter what. Patrick Sweeny, them shoes.

My garbage person is a lady. She is ripped and maybe scares me a little bit. When I first moved in about a year ago I left a few pairs of nice Kevlar insulated gloves on top of the bin. Like 6 months later I was working in the yard when they went by. She said 'hey do you live here? Thanks for the gloves!'

I love my garbage girl. She

I bet she is ripped. Women garbage workers aren't unheard of, just extremely uncommon. And we remember everything, good and bad. Throw your garbage man a tip or some water or a pair of gloves, and you've made a friend for life.

I only have leftover insulated gloves right now :( what is a proper amount for a tip? Like what amount is so small itd be offensive? 5 bucks? 10 bucks? The gloves I leave are like 30 dollar/pair but I get them from work

it depends on the person, i guess. i got a card with a 2 dollar tip in it last christmas, with a message saying he was out of work and 2 dollars was all he could afford. i went back, knocked on his door and offered him a job, he said he was ok and had some stuff waiting. this summer, he told me he got a job with a construction company and is doing a lot better, so im happy for him.

anyway, to answer your question, i dont take offense to any tip, because we get paid every friday and anything extra is money you wouldnt have otherwise. an average christmas tip is like 10-20 bucks.

Would it be odd if I left this week?

not at all, i usually get 20-30 bucks a week in tips in non-holiday months. i mean, usually it's because someone wants me to take something i'm not supposed to, but it's not unusual.

If I leave a pair of gloves on my garbage can. Will those recycling guys take them?

Nah. There's a code. Those recycling guys can afford their own gloves, they're not about to steal them if they're clearly left out for the garbage man.

Your answer for #5 is not wrong. I watched an episode of Undercover Boss for one of the waste removal companies and they revealed they don't give their drivers bathroom breaks. The female driver they had said her male coworkers would often pee in bottles but that wasn't really an option for her, not to mention having a period etc.

i piss in the street lol

and.... it's more about the physicality of the job, honestly. if you can't do 2 tons an hour, you're in the wrong business. that's at a minimum. if a woman can do that without working her ass off at the gym every night, she needs to be in the olympics, not throwing trash. that lady in undercover boss had a sweet route, 300 stops with a toter dumper. that's basically a paid vacation. i had 900 hand pick stops today, 1100 on thursday. it's just tough physical work that is better suited for men.

i know that's not a pc answer, but that's just how it is, in my opinion. the industry is moving towards curottos and toters, so the market is certainly becoming more accessible to female workers, but for a lot of sites like ours, it's just too physical.

Want to trade jobs?

Good luck going to school on a garbage man schedule lol

i worked at mcd's for waaay longer than id like to admit, that shit sucks.

Once you're done with school im sure i'll be asking you the same question

lol best to you mate

dont get me wrong, i loved mcdonalds, the stress level is just waaaay too high for the pay grade, rush hour sucks dick. i loved working overnights.

Are you allowed to keep any of the items that you find in the trash?

"Allowed"

Since tipping the garbage man is a thing (no offense but I honestly had no idea) how much is a good amount? I am feeling super guilty right now for never even talking to my guy..although he does come at like 6 am..?

most people don't tip, but a good portion of people do. leave a cooler out with a couple cold waters in it every now and then and you're golden. just make sure to leave a note on the cooler telling them not to throw it away, write on it with a sharpie or something. a typical tip is like 20 dollars, usually around christmas, but i get tips sporadically throughout the year, average 20-30 bucks a week- that's out of about 3500 total stops, so don't feel bad about not tipping. it's more during the winter months.

I will give a Christmas gift then. But leaving ice water out at 6 am is probably not that great of an idea..

out of curiosity, why not? asshole kids will steal it?

because it's freezing cold outside

i meant in the summer for water :p

Have you ever beat up a customer's garbage cans?

My yard waste collector beat the living shit out of my can while I watched from my darkened abode. It was packed too full and the grass clippings and shrubbery did not easily slide out.

I was watching because I thought it may be difficult to get out and was going to offer help. But decided to enjoy the show when the guy quickly snapped the fuck out on my receptacle.

Yes, for similar reasons. My line of thought is, if they don't care about me, I don't care about their cans. It's not a healthy attitude maybe, but we don't have a way to communicate with you other than being passive aggressive with cans. Unless we see you out and about of course.

Sorry :(

Have you ever heard the song Garbage Man Blues by Pokey LaFarge?

Follow up: does anyone ever stick out their can and shake it for the garbage man?

I have now, 10/10

If by cans you mean cans, then no

If by cans you mean asses, then it happens

Do you hate the smell of my dogs poop? It's in bags but during the summer ....... I'm so sorry

it's not even close to the worst smelling shit i deal with on a daily basis, probably not even top 5

Thank god. I'm assuming baby shit would be up there. Cat shit. Bird shit..? I'm struggling to imagine the other kinds you would come across, I'm sure I have no idea.

i dont mean shit specifically

dead animals, maggots, and grass all rank higher to me than dog shit. dog shit ain't too bad, i guess im used to it by now

You get extra pay for your Birthday?

We get our birthday as a paid day off

Ah thats nice.

No you're nice

Would it be possible to survive being put in a garbage truck since they have those hydraulic compactor thing in the back?

How compact does it get in there?

Fuck no. Nooooo. If it was empty maybe, but even with a small load with the blade back your ass is toast.

It gets really compact.

My truck is 33 cubic yards, i've had 18 tons of trash on it. Trash comes out like a brick when it gets that dense.

Damn that is tight!

that's what he said

padum ting

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a 2 year old kid wandering around a bad neighborhood at 6 am

i didn't see an adult, so i got out the truck and asked him where he lived, but he was 2 and didnt really understand the question. i sanitized my hands, held his hand and went door to door asking if anyone knew who's kid it was, no one did, so there was a group of old ladies hanging out on their porch. i asked them to watch him, and they said sure np. i called the cops. couple hours later, we swing by and there are police at the old lady's house, and a crying woman i assume was the kid's mother. it scared me because i have a kid around that age and if she got out the house like that, who knows what could happen. idk. it was pretty surreal and sobering.

Howard Stern show from years ago... can you tell a household's race from the trash?

Sometimes

Do you ever get cool stuff? If so what was some of the coolest free things you have obtained?

i swallowed a maggot once, nice source of protein

What would be the worse bird to be eaten by? Best?

Worst would be woodpecker, they are brutal

Best would probably be.... an ostrich? Least embarrassing at least

Do you expect a tip at Christmas?

Nope. I don't expect a dime, but when I get tips, I appreciate them and always make sure to remember that person and take care of them for the rest of the year.

Thank you! As a quick follow up...how do they usually give you said tip?

In person, or tape it to the can. If you live in a great neighborhood, tape it to the top of the can- if your neighborhood is sketchy, tape it under the lid. We're like tip-seeking missiles around christmas, if you hide it, we will find it for sure

What can you do differently for someone who tips compared to someone who doesn't?

Take shit we normally aren't allowed to, run your can up your drive way, kiss your ass if requested

not kick your can across the street if your trash is exceptionally shitty

you know, perks

I've always been told that garbage men make good money. Is this true and is it worth it ?

I posted my check stub as proof, you tell me

I call that good money.

That's only income from the company, too. My end of the year income is significantly higher than what is reported on my check stub. It's a tough, shitty job, but it pays very well.

I wear my firing from Waste Management (5 years ago) like a badge of honor, same with a few of my colleagues. What say you?

Congratulations lol

It takes effort to get fired from a garbage company, at least around here

What's best practices to make it easier for garbage men to take my trash and recyclables? On the flip side, what are the most common annoyances and mistakes residents make when they set out stuff for garbage?

Just making sure you bag your trash and set it close to the curb is 99% of it. Break down cardboard, don't make the cans too heavy, and don't leave food sitting in your can for more than a day and you're golden.

Oh ok. Why is it bad if you leave food there for more than one day?

Maggots and smell. Maggots are the bane of my existence

How much does it suck to have a trash can way over filled and heavy as hell?

not at all, if i can pick it up 4 feet, it goes in the truck. if i can't, that shit stays right where it's at lol

we're not supposed to pick up anything over 50 lbs, but i usually take shit well over that

How does it feel to lose to fnatic?

Feels like a reference I don't understand

Video game what not. Thank you for doing what most people won't do. 👊🏼

What game? Fnatic sounds familiar, but I only ever followed the competitive sc2 scene

Do you PokemonGo? Slow speed and lots of different roads sounds like a ace combo for eggs, stops and Pokemon.

I had to quit playing because I was going out of my way to hit stops/wait for stops and it hurt my efficiency lol

What's the most annoying type of customer you pick up rubbish from? Someone who doesn't bag properly? Bins full of glass? Bins full of water?

All of the above. Glass? funny story. Some asshole last week put broken glass in a bag, when i picked it up it hit my leg. Had to get stitches. Pizza boxes are the worst. They get stuck in the can, make them bottom heavy and awkward. Never not break down cardboard. Put that shit in a bag outside the can if you have to.

Cans full of water i can understand, not everyone has a can with a lid on it, and it's easy enough to tip a can over and dump the water into the street, but if you put grass clippings in a can unbagged, please put a lid on your can.

I live in WNY. Shit gets super cold in winter sometimes. Sometimes trash freezes in and to the bottom of the can. I'm not really sure there's anything I can do about this. Thoughts?

Nothing you can really do about it, honestly. I try to hand pick frozen trash, but not everyone does. Keep it inside? I don't know. I don't even put out a can in the winter, just the bags.

You could try setting it on fire on trash day to keep it from freezing

I feel vindicated. Some asshat here on Reddit gave me shit for leaving it out in the cold. Like, what the fuck else am I supposed to do? It's not like I'm even mad when some stuff sticks and gets left in there. Shit is cold, gonna freeze sometimes. Dude actually suggested getting a dumpster. Like that's a practical or even a legal solution in a suburban neighborhood. Where the hell am I gonna put it?

I can't put out just bags either. Town ordinance here requires lids on cans. We've had a growing rat problem, I guess.

how often do they check to see if you have a can with lids? people sprinkle chlorine on their trash and it keeps animals away, one lady uses a paper towel with cat piss on it taped to her can. works like a charm

I really don't know, but it was recently passed, so we all got mailings about it. I imagine they're being hyper vigilant about it right now. But really, they'll probably only check when I don't use a lid for the first time.

sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission, are they threatening you with a fine? i'd just try it anyway, animals usually don't fuck with your trash in the winter anyway unless you live in an area with bears and wolves and shit, in which case you have bigger things to worry about, like being mauled by bears and wolves

What if they wedged a pizza box near the bottom as a stays-in-the-can-all-winter way of keeping stuff from freezing to the bottom? And maybe cardboard to line the sides?

How about one drum liner in the can, and the garbage inside the folded-over drum liner, so if the drum liner sticks to the can at least the stuff inside it can be dumped. Maybe?

I'm a solver.

then shit would just freeze to the pizza box, and cardboard in a can is a bad idea 100 times out of 100

the liner isn't a terrible idea, but shit will still get stuck to the liner, it'd turn inside out and i'd rip the liner and trash out and you'd have to replace it every week but that's not an awful approach

Pizza box: can't recycle it and you don't want it in the bin. If I just leave it out, it will blow away. What is best solution?

break it into smaller pieces and bag it, or just put it in a bag with something heavy enough to not blow away in the wind. they just get stuck in the can, it's a feeling similar to when someone is going down on you and you tell them you're about to cum so they punch you in the throat

Ok the double bag was meant to be a weekly disposable solution. Just whatever gets the stuff out of the can, one way or another.

Thanks for the tip against cardboard, I live in an apartment so it's not something I have any reason to do but for sure I won't do it now.

don't get me wrong, cardboard in a can is usually a great idea if you want your garbage man to want to murder you

Have you ever found anything that shouldn't have been thrown away in the trash?

Are you allowed to take things you find home with you?

Thanks.

Every day i find shit i shouldnt throw in the trash, and every day i leave it, depending on who threw it away. And nope, 100% not allowed.

I still am a bit of a hopper shopper every now and then though. Brand new, still in the box pc parts? Gimme dat.

What truck body do you work with, and how do you like it??

I work at a Heil dealer and I'm kinda curious.

Mcneilus FEL. Heils are garbage in my experience, always have issues with the hydraulics.

Do you hate when people run out of the house at last second when you are passing their house to bring out the trash can?

Anything that takes a few seconds longer is frustrating, but I understand- I've had to do it before. You have so many stops, it's understandable that some people are gonna forget to take theirs out in time, and nobody wants to keep their garbage for an extra week. You don't want that, and neither do we. That said, if it's an every week thing, yeah. You're an asshole

Was this your first choice of job? If so, why? If not, what would your first choice of job be?

I went to college as an english major, with the goal of becoming a lawyer

yada yada yada

now im a garbage man

i want to own my own landscaping business one day, but i want to make sure i have enough money stowed away before i go down that path. i'm young enough that my job won't exist by the time retirement age comes along.

i'm young enough that my job won't exist by the time retirement age comes along.

Is this due to single-manned trucks (the ones with the robo-arm)?

Sidenote: I recently moved from CA. WM had our area locked down and only deployed this style of truck. This makes sense from a payroll standpoint for WM, but the customer suffers as you can only throw away what fits in the can. Nothing would get that driver out of his truck.

Really missing the 2-3 man trucks, I was happy to see the town I live in now (in Idaho) does things old school. Mondays (trash day) is a big event for my kids as they patiently wait for the Garbage Men to arrive.

No, I'm actually a driver, and use the "robo-arm" truck once a week. I was more referring to automation. Transportation industry execs are probably jerking off thinking about the day when self driving cars become viable.

Ever had anyone toss any bodies out? If not, Any co-workers? Not that type of neighborhood? haha

a friend of mine is 51% sure he threw a body out once. he didnt report it. my friday route, it wouldnt surprise me if i found a body one day. Shitty neighborhood. Most of my routes are good areas though.

Eagles or Steelers fan?

Falcons. Steelers are my AFC team.

How did you get the job? How can a person apply for the job? What is the interview procedure?

Thanks,

I applied online, get your CDL and throw an application in. We are ALWAYS hiring. 80% one year turnover rate, we can't keep enough people to cover all the routes for a good portion of the year.

Not sure if this has been asked, but have any discarded items surprised or upset you? (Like a teddy bear in the trash, etc)

There was this cool old guy, he used to talk to me about the good old days of union strikes and fights with the police working at the steel mills. I talked to him in the fall, he gave me a Christmas tip early and said he'll be staying indoors for the winter, since winter kicks old people's asses.

This spring, there was a pile of stuff outside the house, tools and stuff, and his wife comes out and handed me a few bucks and apologized for the mess. I asked her if her husband was cleaning out the garage, turns out the dude died over the winter, and she had to wait until spring to move all his stuff to the curb.

Do you keep anything people throw out? Is it acceptable to keep things people throw out or is it frowned upon, or will it lead to termination?

It can lead to termination. Once it's in the hopper, it's property of the company. I keep shit, mostly scrap. But it's absolutely against the rules for the company i work for. It's still prevalent, and most managers don't give a fuck as long as it's not beer or something.

What time do you usually start in the morning? You guys are fucking on firing ready to go at the ass crack of dawn.

Also thanks for keepin it real.

Our shop starts at 5 am for resi, most places have staggered start times though. Our union contract forbids it. Typically I'm in by 5, off by 4:30 ish.

Honest question. How do I throw away my garbage can? We had one at our previous house due to dogs that would tear up trash, but in our new neighborhood everyone just puts bags on the curb because dogs are not a threat at all! So now we have this big ole lunky trash can we don't want anymore!

Leave a note on it, or throw it sideways on top of your trash empty and your garbage man will likely get the idea

Does the mob really have ties to waste management?

More likely through the union

So first off, healthy dose of respect for what you guys do!

In my area, most of the WM trucks have a curotto. What are your thoughts on the use of them? Are they replacing people's jobs, or are they just changing what that person does? Even with the traditional trucks, I don't really see the two-person team they've usually been in the past. I'd also be curious if those working on curotto-equiped trucks still receive tips, water, etc.

Lastly, does WM service their own trucks, or do they just go to a local mechanic? That in an of itself has to be a pretty nasty job servicing hydraulics, rear diff or whatnot with all of those uh, juices... fermenting and dripping everywhere.

The industry is moving towards curottos, and it's absolutely replacing people's jobs. Don't need a loader, and one driver can pick up more stops than a FEL driver without one, so you need less men to pick up the same amount of trash. I hate it. I drive FEL with no curotto 4 days a week, and I prefer it, even if it means I don't get to sit on my ass all day. And yeah, folks running a curotto still get tips, but we only have like 5 in our fleet, so small sample size.

We service our own trucks, and for big jobs we send our trucks to specialists- we fix most of the easy/medium jobs, but don't rebuild transmissions, you know? And the trucks are nasty, but our mechanics get paid pretty well.

Also, you sound like you know what you're talking about, what industry you in?

what's the most dangerous thing you've had to throw away? sharps, medical waste, e-waste, etc.

Probably broken glass. Needle sticks are common, I've never been stuck but I've been cut by glass and needed stitches. Anything too heavy can pull a muscle too. Containers are extremely dangerous, lots of people get killed or maimed dumping containers.

Do you pick up your own trash? Do you have to pay for it?

My company doesn't pick up my trash, but I still don't pay for it. I pay my garbage man directly

What is the craziest thing you have seen while being out and about? I know you guys are probably out while most people are at work, anything crazy?

rich neighborhood, a lady comes out wearing nothing but a bra and panties, she's like 50, asks me in a heavy russian accent if carpet is recyclable. it's like noon, and we're in a neighborhood of millionaires, and drunk menopausal russian lady is walking around the neighborhood concerned about saving the planet. that, and the 2 year old story i mentioned somewhere in here stick out, but crazy shit happens all the time.

Is the air just right for drinking?

Considering how hot and humid it's been, I'd say yes

Unless you mean for getting drunk, in which case, if there is a type of air not just right for drinking, I haven't experienced it

What's your favourite and least favourite parts of the job?

Favorite? I love physical work. It's long hours, but it goes by quick. I love talking to the customers, you build relationships with people, good and bad, and it's a fun dynamic. Worst? The weather. Heat especially.

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My check stub is my proof. 19.something for regular, damn near 30 OT