Two Ride Alongs One Day

I had another 5:30 am work day, where I headed to the Salt River facility to meet up with a driver for my first ride along. This time I rode in a side-loading truck, which is the truck that picks up the residential trash cans on the street and in the alleys.

It was a lot bumpier than my last ride, with many starts and stops Albert, my driver, was a friendly guy who had been driving for 8 years. Like Zoolander, garbage trucks avoid left turns, so the route seems like you are just going in circles. However, as I learned when I spoke to analysts back at the office, these are actually the most efficient routes.

After riding around in the garbage truck for a few hours, I met up with the other intern and Ramon, a MET specialist. MET used to stand for Mobile Enforcement Team but now it stands for Mobile Engagement team (much friendlier). This unit deals with customers and various problems that come up with trash pickup. A common problem is that people's trees are overgrown and hanging out in the street. Not only is this a hassle for the drivers, but it is dangerous, as a low-hanging branch could break a windshield. The specialist talks to the resident, and if they do not address the problem within 7 days, they could receive a Notice of Violation.

Another issue was with an alley. Alleys have the large 300-gallon bins. This alley is next to private businesses, and there are a lot of problems with illegal dumping in their bins. To solve the problem, the City is proposing to give the 9 houses that use the alley their own green bins to put in the front of the house. We went door to door to give residents a survey. At least 75% of them must respond to the survey with a "yes" to the change before it can be put into effect. Some residents were home, and Ramon spoke to them about the survey. For the rest, we left the surveys at the door. We met the sweetest elderly lady ever, who was very friendly. Most of the residents seemed like they agreed that dumping is a problem.

To be honest, I am surprised the city does this kind of customer service. I would think they would just switch the street to curbside service, instead of gathering customer input in such a personal way. It's a great team that I had no idea even existed before I got into Solid Waste.

Luckily, no one slammed the door in our faces or yelled at us while we were out with Ramon. Plenty of customers get upset and are very sensitive about people coming onto their property. Ramon is a very personable and patient guy, so he is really good at dealing with all kinds of people.

This work "out in the field" has definitely been eye-opening, and hopefully I'll get to do more trips like this in my internship.