The apartment complex we live in has large dumpster bins that are emptied out by garbage trucks every three or four days. The garbage trucks are the front-loading kind, with large hydraulic hooks in the front that extend and attach to the dumpster. The hydraulics then lift the dumpster over the front cab and deposits the garbage into the large refuse container. The workers rarely get out of their trucks!
The operation does make a lot of noise however. I don't know if this is on purpose, but sometimes the dumpster is repeatedly slammed into the ground, like a toddler banging a toy. The sound reverberates throughout the buildings, and I'm sure it's audible to the other buildings near us. I think they bang the dumpsters to dislodge garbage so that it falls into the truck better. Or maybe they just like making noise.
One morning, probably while taking a walk, I saw the garbage truck entering our street. I watched as it slowed down, then it came to a stop. I stopped also. The garbage truck worker opened his door, and then hopped out. He had a large iced coffee cup in his hand. He walked towards the back and then casually flipped this container over the high wall of the truck into the open garbage bin! I was dazzled.
I still think about that moment. Did that worker see someone do this before? I appreciated his cleanliness. I can imagine his thought process: "Well... I have this empty container which I should throw away. But wait! I'm driving a garbage truck!" The whole moment put a smile on my face. I may have even waved as he drove past, on the way to our dumpster.
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| From Mack Terrapro (Flickr) |
