You may be wondering how I came about deciding to give a hats off to the garbage men and women today? Well, it was after watching a rerun episode of "Dirty Jobs" last night with my family that I began to ponder the stink and grossness that a garbage person might endure all day long. Not to mention, the weather aspect of this glorious but extremely necessary job. Rain, snow, sleet, hail, blazing heat and sun...they are there to pick up our nastiness.
 |
| Naples, Italy 2008 endured a year long garbage strike and took the Italian Army to clean up the mess!!! |
Earthsense Recycled Tall Kitchen Waste Bags, 13 Gallon, White, 150/Box (Google Affiliate Ad)
If you are like me, when I take out the trash (which usually has those lovely dirty diapers riding along in the bag); I try to open up the lid holding my breath, toss in the trash bad, and slam down the lid and run like crazy before I get a sniff of the stench that flows toward my nostrils! Now, imagine doing this all day long!!! CAN'T, I really can't! I am assuming that maybe these guys have lost their gag reflex, as they watch bags of our worst get tossed into that giant trash crushing truck day in and day out. And I would say it was nice for these fellows to have the new trash cans that can clip to the side or back of the truck and a mechanical arm or lift hoist up the trash can and dumps it in. But, I am not naive enough to think that all trash is nicely secured and neatly placed in such trash cans. What about all the stuff that doesn't fit and has to be lifted by hand and tossed in? That would surely be tough on the old body, constantly picking up our junk...our unwanted crap, and throwing it into a huge pile of yuck. Knowing all the while, they are bound to be touched or dripped on by what I will call, "garbage juice"! This is the liquidity mess that collects at the bottom of your trash can and if any of your bags happen to be ripped or leaking, well you know where that drains to...the bottom. Now add in a little rain water from the lid being left open during the rain, a few maggots, bees going after your old sweet food, and yes, beyond my comprehension how they do this. I am certain it is one of the most necessary, and yet unappreciated jobs around.
So, I feel safe to say, in a way they are hero's of the modern world! Yes, they deal with all of the stuff we surely don't ever want to see again, come whatever weather! And if you have ever been to a city where the sanitation workers are on strike, then you get a visual on what can happen if these hero's don't come to our trash making aid. It is not a pretty or fragrant situation, which may quite be the understatement of the year! I was in Toronto when they were on strike and the piles of trash on the beautiful streets of downtown Toronto was a horrific sight! Bees and stink everywhere, and basically taking up the pedestrian walkway. This can happen anywhere, in any country, as I have attached a few pics of what has happened in the past when these waste hero's take a stand against the "Big Man" over wages and benefits. So I with full confidence say, my hat is off to all of those that work in Sanitation or Waste Management, and when you pick up my poop smelling trash or dead animal smell from the raw chicken container from last week, I will surely Smile and just move on, very thankfully!!! And by all means, don't forget them at Christmas, a gift card for the person who deals with your stink every week surely deserves it :)
Toronto Summer 2009
New York City 1981
No comments:
Post a Comment