Everyday People: Portland garbage truck driver's job is more than trash

BENJAMIN BRINK/ The Oregonian

It's 5 a.m. and pouring rain. Not one of those mornings you jump out of bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But at Waste Management's dispatch center near the Portland airport, 40 men and a few women have already arrived at work, laced up their steel-toed boots, strapped on their reflective vests and filled their coffee mugs. 

They're the first shift of the company's residential collection program, and in a few minutes they'll scatter to neighborhoods throughout Northeast and Southeast Portland, covertly whisking away half-eaten apples, empty yogurt containers and dirty diapers. 


Like the tooth fairy, their existence is confirmed by what they leave behind -- empty yellow bins and blue barrels where once there were mounds of discarded debris. 

 ***

By the time most of us hit the snooze button, Shawn Balfour has been up for several hours. 

The 41-year-old garbageman (though if you call him that, be prepared for a reminder that the proper term is waste collection driver) navigates his monstrous green truck down a narrow street just south of Southeast Woodstock Boulevard and 82nd Avenue. 

A car speeds past, nearly sideswiping the truck. 

"Happens all the time," Balfour says. "It gets kind of hair-raising. It's always scarier on days when it's raining because you can't see them, they can't see you." 

Balfour says most people view his job as mindlessly simple -- pick up the trash, move to the next house -- but it takes a great deal of expertise to operate a 17-ton vehicle. 

"We keep safety at the forefront," he says as the truck lumbers down the road. "I don't think people actually realize the amount of time it takes a 35,000-pound truck to stop." 
 
***

Aside from the occasional passing car, Balfour doesn't see another soul for the first couple of hours. He has never met some residents on his earliest route, but that doesn't stop him from looking out for them. 

When a resident goes on vacation without remembering to take their bins to the curb, he jumps out of the cab and empties them anyway. 

"Customer service is one of our biggest tools," he says. 

Balfour has helped customers change tires and clear branches from their yard after a big storm. Once, he called police to report a drunken driver, then followed the vehicle until officers arrived, rushing to the young woman's aid when she crashed into a guardrail. 

Just before 7 a.m., he has the day's first human interaction. A young woman is dragging her bins out at the last minute. Balfour offers to jump out and fetch the compost bin, but she waves him along. 

"She only has a little bit in there," he says. 

 ***

 By the time the sun comes up, Balfour is hours into his shift as a Waste Management truck driver.Customers toward the end of Balfour's route know him better. During the holidays, they leave plates of cookies on the recycling carts and in the summer they bring him Gatorade and ice water. 

He knows which homes have small children and makes a point to wave as they stare out the window at the hulking vehicle. 

Adults are trickier. They usually have questions about the new food composting program. Some like it; others say it's a hassle. 

"I tell them the less amount of stuff we take to the landfill, the less problems our children's children are going to have in the future," he says. 

He admits the program has a downside. It stinks. 

"I don't think any air freshener can take away organics," Balfour says. 

Rotten yard clippings smell like manure. With the recent addition of food to the mix, "I can't even describe it," Balfour says. A few minutes later, the truck passes an area smelling distinctively of skunk. Balfour chuckles. "That's one component." 

 ***

Before the sun is up, Balfour has covered a good chunk of his 900-residence territory. Around 11:30 a.m., he'll meet up with some fellow drivers for lunch at McDonald's. He will clock out at 2 p.m., then head home and pick up his kids from school. 

By night, Balfour is the typical dad. His wife is self-employed and works inconsistent hours, so Balfour cooks dinner and takes the kids to basketball practices and dance rehearsals. Tonight he plans to take his son to a Portland Trail Blazers game, so he'll be up late. He'll awake again at 4 a.m. tomorrow to ensure another week of sanity and sanitation for the next Portland neighborhood.

-- Kelly HouseThe Oregonian  


Article from: http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/02/everyday_people_portland_garba.html