BRAZOS COUNTY, TX — It's a job that never stops- cleaning up trash even on the hottest days during Waste & Recycling Works Week.
"We always have folks on standby. We have weekend routes. We have routes that start at 4 A.M. Sometimes we go until 6 or seven at night," Jared Birkhead, environmental operations supervisor, City of Bryan shared with KRHD 25 News.
Crew Leader, Carlos Brook,s has been with Solid Waste Department in Bryan for about 14 years, working through the sweltering heat to keep streets clean.
"I guess as a kid, you say you never want to grow up to be a trash man but then again, you grow up to be a trash man, and I enjoy it," Brooks said.
The crew uses special trucks depending on the type of waste they are collecting.
The same trucks are used to collect bulk and brush.
The crew uses them to service residential areas once a week, and on those days, they make two rounds.
In the morning they pick up bulk items and brush in the afternoons. So separating things like furniture from tree branches make the job much easier when it's time to dispose.
The crew cleans roughly 70 thousand tons of trash a year from both residents and businesses- even if it means enduring the horrendous stench from trash and the landfill.
"It's bad especially when, you know the heat right now, it probably smells bad, worse and then when it rains, it smells bad," Brooks said.
"When we go to the landfill, our guys do clean out the trucks every day, by hand, they dump it out and then they get out and scrape it out," Birkhead said.
Simply making sure the bag is tied correctly and won't spill makes a world of a difference to make the 'dirty work' a little less unpleasant.
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