Today is National Garbage Man (and Woman) Day, and here at Rubicon we believe it’s important to honor our great independent hauler partners, and the local garbage men and women they employ, for their work in leading the way in the waste and recycling industry.
Being a garbage collector is one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs around, and more often than not, their work is out of sight and out of mind for most of us. In a recent interview in Government Fleet, city engineer for the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, Amanda Hicks noted that “Sanitation workers have tough jobs and [unfortunately] aren’t often recognized.” We want to change all that. At Rubicon® we work with thousands of independent waste and recycling haulers across the globe on sustainable solutions for cities and businesses.
To celebrate National Garbage Man (and Woman) Day, we sat down with a couple of our hauling partners based out of Sacramento, California, and Dallas, Texas to highlight the good work they are doing in their respective cities, and to find out how they will be celebrating National Garbage Man (and Woman) Day this year.
Here’s what they had to say.
Atlas Disposal
Atlas Disposal, operating out of Sacramento, California since 1998, was established in response to recycling mandates that were passed by the State of California in that year. Atlas quickly emerged as one of the fastest growing waste and recycling management companies in the area, and today it is one of the largest independently-owned waste and recycling management providers in Sacramento, California and Salt Lake Valley, Utah.
Steve Bruce, Vice President at Atlas Disposal, has over 38 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry, having worked for numerous waste management companies out of college before being invited, a decade and a half ago, to come on as a partner at Atlas.
One of only three haulers in Sacramento, Atlas Disposal works as a premier hauler in California’s capital, using our RUBICONPro™ technology to optimize the routes their haulers take on a daily basis, track service times and frequencies, and ensure that the service they provide their customers is always of the highest quality.
“Here at Atlas we care deeply about our garbage men and women and the work they do for us and our residential and commercial customers,” said Steve during a recent phone call. “We put a lot of weight on the importance of waste diversion and organics recycling, but we also like to recognize any day or event that shows just how important garbage men and women are in today’s world.”
Fusion Waste & Recycling
Fusion Waste & Recycling, operating out of the Dallas–Fort Worth area, grew from just one truck and their two founders, Hector and Anne Marie Hernandez, when they started the business in 2013, to over 50 employees today.
One of Fusion’s first big breaks was a single-stream recycling contract procured by Rubicon for one of our clients. We flew down to Dallas to help deploy our RUBICONPro™ technology in all of Fusion’s hauling vehicles, and they are now able to use this technology to oversee route details, navigation, and alerts while collecting real-time service information, vehicle tracking, and safety metrics.
When we asked Hector and Anne Marie at Fusion Waste & Recycling what they have planned for National Garbage Man (and Woman) Day this year, Hector noted: “We’re having a full cookout… we think it’s so important to celebrate this day with our team.” Hector continued, “These men and women of this industry, it’s no joke. They go above and beyond. This is a dangerous profession, but it’s also very rewarding. Here at Fusion we like to keep a family culture, and none of this is possible without close partners like Rubicon. We appreciate every single thing you have done for us.”
—
I would like to personally wish all of our independent hauler partners a very happy National Garbage Man (and Woman) Day! We’re grateful for everything you do, and we’re excited to continue working alongside you in our mission to end waste, in all its forms.
Lori Sullivan is Vice President of Hauler Operations at Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.
