HE has seen horrendous bed hair, threadbare dressing gowns and even the odd nudie run as people make the early morning dash after waking to the realisation they forgot to put their bin out.
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Jim Sach from St Georges Basin said he’s seen just about everything in his 37 years driving garbage trucks in the Shoalhaven.
“Fortunately, touch wood, I haven’t copped a dead body yet,” he said cheerfully.
“You would be amazed at what people put in their bins. Over the years I’ve seen tree stumps, engine blocks, the tines off a backhoe – they ended up poking through the sides of the truck.
“I’ve even had a live chicken, which luckily flew out of the back of the truck after the bin was emptied.”
And yes, the importance of getting one’s bin emptied has resulted in the occasional scantily-clad and even naked person racing for the truck.
“Some of those were not so good, some were alright,” he said with a smile.
Mr Sach said before everything became so automated garbage truck drivers got to know their customers as they passed by each week.
“I don’t know what it is but kids seem to love garbage trucks. I remember one boy who knew more about the trucks than the driver,” he said.
“One Christmas a while back, a young lady in Shoreland Place, Nowra set out a table with a tablecloth and served us breakfast.
“It doesn’t happen as much these days, but we still get nice things from people. One lady, Betty from Sussex Inlet, bakes three or four cakes for us each week.
“This Christmas I got Belgium chocolates off someone which was very nice.
“We don’t expect anything, but it’s nice to hear people say thanks occasionally.
“I used to have an older lady who had a very clean bin, she would wrap all her rubbish before dumping it. You could eat out of that bin it was so clean.
“She would tape a 50 cent piece under the lid for me.
“But there are people who are the opposite and have very dirty bins.”
Mr Sach said when it came to odour seafood and Chinese foods were the worst.
“Picking up bins from restaurants often smell the worst, especially if there’s fish in it. The slop goes everywhere and the smell wafts through the truck’s cab.”
“It’s a great job though and I’ve met some wonderful people,” he said.
Over the Christmas and new year period council increases the recycling pickup to weekly, rather than fortnightly.
Weekly recycle pickup will run until the end of January.
Garbage collected over December and January increases by 20 per cent with recycling increasing by 40 per cent compared to the rest of the year.
