Philly Garbage Man - We Salute You!!!

I (this is Isaac writing) remember when the trash collection in Utah went from manual to motorized. I remember the whole family getting up early to watch the amazing robotic arms reaching out for the trash can, plucking it up with ease, dumping its contents into the truck, and putting the can softly back on the ground. All while the men stayed in the truck. It was a beautiful thing. I would actually follow it around watching it pick up and dump the neighbor's, then the next neighbor's, and so on and so forth. Not a lot has changed, the Utah trash truck still comes and automatically picks up those cans and I can still be caught watching with glee out the window when the garbage truck rolls down the street here.

Why, you might ask, would I still be enamored by the garbage man? Well its a bit different here and we would both argue, much better. When we moved to Philly we were told to put our trash out on the curb as per usual, but we were a little surprised when the classic truck pulled around with 2-3 guys close behind emptying cans into the gaping rear of the truck. Not that watching people personally handle your trash isn't interesting enough, the really great part is that they will take as much as you want them to take! They don't care, their job is to collect what is sitting on the curb and put it in the truck!

When we moved here we quickly began buying stuff and renovating our house. We generated a lot of trash and twice a week Sara and I would roll out of bed and peer down as the trash collectors rumbled down the street. The truck got used to parking in front of our house for a minute or two while all the guys concentrated on our pile of rubbish. They would usually have to compact once or twice to fit it all in. It was nothing to them, but you couldn't wipe the smile off our faces- week after week we exclaimed, "I can't believe they took all that junk!"

What stuff? Well let's see...

-Almost 1000 sq ft of carpet and pad
-Original upper and lower kitchen cabinets with countertops
-150 lb cast-iron kitchen sink
-8 million moving boxes
-Daxter's doody
-Framing and drywall scraps
-So much more

They do have limitations- large appliances are a no no. Don't fret! There is a lesser order of trash collectors in Philly. They fly a little under the radar, but once you know they are there, you will never ever have to worry about disposing of anything on your own again. You want in on the secret...well...I'm not sure who these people are, but they come out at dark and they're gone before you know it. They usually drive old pickup trucks with extended truck bed sides made of plywood or welded metal. I'll call them the night shift! Anyway, they love appliances and somehow find value in the trash we leave out. They took our vintage clothes wringer that the previous owner left behind- worked for her, but it just wasn't our style!

I guess I shouldn't make fun of the night shift. We aren't much better. One of our favorite things to do, well, occasionally, is to grab stuff that people put out on the curb. It sounds weird, but we've grabbed some bookshelves or a little cabinet, or chest of drawers. I use one in the garage to put tools and stuff in. I'm sure you all now imagine us with smudged up faces diving through dumpsters in West Philadelphia alleys. Actually, the "curb alert" is a popular thing out here- people post them on Criag's List all the time, just to let everyone know what they are putting out to trash.

If this PhD thing doesn't work out, I told Sara that a career in sanitary engineering would make me just as happy.

So, in conclusion, let's all tip our hats, or give a special hello to our local trash men (or women) who make our lives happy in so many ways!