Artist’s Journal:

The first team I met with was comprised of two experienced sanitation workers. They each had about twenty years of experience. One fellow was a little older than the other, more weathered from a life spent working in the cold and heat of Canadian urban outdoors. The other was a younger family man. We talked of his children and his life here in Ottawa as a transplant from Southern Ontario.

I was struck right away by how open both men were, happy to talk to me about their jobs and the daily work. Dwayne, the older man, was a naturally more patient personality, and shared a very zen philosophy about his job: people make garbage, and we take it away. The minutiae of how, when, or where really didn’t concern him much, though he recognized these decisions impacted his day and the sentiments of the citizens with whom he interacts.

Dwayne was open with me about the pushback they sometimes receive from homeowners when they interact. The truck teams are currently tagging bins and waste that are oversized, too heavy, and too plentiful for the new garbage limits; sometimes, residents come out to have a few words when they see this happening. I think Dave and Dwayne both have long fuses and handle these conversations with great patience, but I will go one step further and say that, if I ever have a situation where I need a cool head to prevail, I think I’d want Dwayne to be there. As he shared stories about his years on the job, including injuries, angry residents, and challenging coworkers, I was impressed by his steady demeanour and clear-headedness in each anecdote. And it makes sense when I think about it: this is a hard job, but a repetitive job, and those who last must be true workhorses, keeping focused on the moment and the job at hand. This is how you stay safe and sane in a job like this.

The men told me about their biggest frustrations. Right now, the new garbage limit is proving to be a challenge. The actual limit will not be enforced for another three months; so, while the men are tagging bins with warning labels about the hard cutoff coming this winter, many residents are ignoring these tags. They think that the garbage will continue to be picked up indefinitely because no one has yet actually refused to collect an excess of trash. The men saw this as a setup for conflict with residents and are keenly concerned with the backlash that lies ahead.

When I asked them what their biggest frustrations are with collection, safety was top of mind. Residents do a poor job of sorting out things like batteries and broken glass. The men both said they appreciate it when residents label a bag with broken glass or other sharp waste; to be honest, I’ve ever done this nor do I know anyone who has, and yet it’s such a simple thing to do. They shook their heads as they remarked on the many residents who fail to recycle, leaving bags of clinking aluminum cans for the truck to haul away. The men were clear: there’s lots of recycling that could be happening but isn’t yet happening, and the garbage limit should help with that.

And to that end, the men were happy about the new trash limits. They find that they are filling up the truck fewer times per shift, and sometimes get to switch to recycling pickup if the day is light enough. I wondered if the reduction in garbage might reduce the number or length of shifts, but it would more likely just mean that the teams switch to hauling recycling in the afternoons. So there didn’t seem to be a lot of fear or worry about the new limits affecting their livelihoods. They were keen to see more recycling happening, and saw it as one potential way to help with the ongoing labour shortage, as well: less trash might mean that less available workers was less of a crisis. They admitted that this is a hard job to fill because of the physicality and working in the elements with smelly, messy waste. On the upside, the men have a four day workweek, and teammates switch off who is driving or lifting every half-hour.

I watched the truck devour an entire king bed frame and mattress, and one of the men regaled me with a tale about an injury he witnessed many years ago at a private company. The jaws of these machines cannot be underestimated. The amount of trash that is compacted into these trucks is incredible. We wove our way through an east end neighbourhood for four hours before filling the truck and heading back to the landfill to empty.