Think your job is hard? NFH reporter Lindsey Harrison is finding many jobs that are tough. This month, Lindsey weighs in on the job of a sanitation worker.As a sanitation worker, garbage isn’t the only unsavory part of the job. Brian Beland, owner of Tri-Lakes Disposal in Colorado Springs, said he knows first-hand the difficulty of a trash-hauling job.Beland started the mostly residential and commercial trash company 15 years ago but worked as a sanitation worker for 10 years prior to that. He said the days he spent hauling trash, driving trucks and making trips to the dump were long and strenuous.ìAt Tri-Lakes, most of our guys get here at about 6:45 a.m. and the driver will check his truck out and get it prepared for the day,î Beland said. Most of the time, the driver also loads the trash into the back of the truck, but on the bigger routes the driver will have someone helping out, he said.While on the haul route, the workers have to constantly be aware of other vehicles and drivers on the road, Beland said. ìWe’re always telling them to look out for traffic, especially in high traffic areas,î he said. ìSometimes a driver will get cut off, but we tell them not to jeopardize the integrity of themselves or the company. They have to be careful and think.îShawn May, owner of The Hauling Co. in Elbert, said he agrees that driving is one of the most dangerous aspects of the job. ìI’ve had people pass me on double-yellow lines on the road,î May said. ìOne time I had a guy pass me on Meridian and almost hit another car.îThe workers also have to be vigilant about their physical health, Beland said. ìWe’ve had guys who have been body builders and fitness fanatics and they spend a day out on the back of a truck and they’re out of breath,î he said. ìWe tell them to stretch and keep hydrated. We tell them to layer their clothing during the winter and dress comfortably in the summer. We tell them to try to eat throughout the day. We tell them that too much sugar will cause cramping. We don’t want them to get dizzy or get heat exhaustion. We’ve had a guy who got heat stroke. We tell them to just take their time and pace themselves.îAfter a full day of hauling, the workers then have to drive their fully loaded trucks to the dump, Beland said. ìWith the traffic flow, it takes almost two hours to get to the landfill,î he said. ìIf you have to break off from your route to go to the dump, it can extend your hours out quite a bit.îIn the winter, the workers’ hours vary between 30 and 40 hours, Beland said. A normal summer schedule is usually 40 to 60 hours a week, assuming nothing on the truck breaks and the trash in the truck isn’t extremely heavy, he said. No matter the season, Beland said he reminds his employees to be proactive against burning out. ìI don’t want my guys working 50-60 hours per week,î he said. ìI want them working 40-45 hours at most so they can be involved with their spouses and their kids.îSome larger companies have hydraulic lifts on their trucks to aid the workers in getting the trash from the can into the back of the truck. Beland said the lifts are expensive and he doesn’t currently have his trucks outfitted with them so his workers lift the cans themselves. ìThere are guys who have injured themselves on the job,î Beland said. ìWe’ve had guys strain a ligament in their arm because they didn’t realize how heavy the can was and didn’t position the can right.îHydraulic lifts can pose another problem because workers can get a finger caught in the mechanisms if they aren’t careful, Beland said.May, whose company focuses on one-time trash-hauling, small removable bins and tear-down jobs, said that cleanup after a tear-down is one of the hardest parts of the process. ìWe have to do a lot of raking when we do a demolition job,î he said. ìI’ve stepped on nails, so I try to buy boots with a steel sole insert so the nail won’t go through.îPart of May’s job is driving a grapple boom truck, and he often has to work from the basket on top of the lift, he said. ìThe most hazardous part of my job is either driving the truck or climbing up on the boom lift,î May said. ìI fell off the boom one time when it was raining and I was at the dump. I just slipped and fell maybe 8 feet. Right after that there was a lightning strike not too far away and while I was laying there, I could feel the electricity go up through the puddle my truck was in.îìIt takes a very special person to be in this industry,î Beland said. ìIt’s physically challenging and mentally challenging. Most people think it’s just trash, but we have to think of safety and watch out for crazy drivers. It’s a repetitive job.î
