The average person generates over four pounds of trash every day, which means your garbage pickup services have their work cut out for them. Typically that’s really all anybody knows about waste removal employees and what their job entails. However, there’s a lot more to a waste removal employee’s day, job, and life that they want you to know.

Even though it’s often very dirty and typically thankless job, people who come and pick up your garbage actually make a pretty good living. While you don’t have to have a high-school diploma to be a waste removal employee, typically someone can make about $38,000 a year. However, it all really depends on where a garbage pickup service is located. In some cities, people who do garbage pickup tend to make upwards of $38,000 a year. Plus, they have great job security.

Next, working for a waste removal service is certainly not an easy job. In fact, a person who is responsible for loading the back of the truck typically lifts about 13,000 pounds each day at work. It is a very dangerous job, especially when disposing of materials that may include sharps and other dangerous objects. However, the biggest danger isn’t related to anything that’s being thrown out. Garbage service employees are often at very high risk for being hit by a vehicle. Anytime a waste removal employee is out of their vehicle, it’s common sense for a person driving to slow down. However, they don’t always do that.

Finally, garbage services would like you to know that you can do a few things to help them stay safe. For example, if you are throwing out broken glass, wrap it in newspaper. This will help avoid any injuries during your garbage pickup. Don’t throw any chemicals away, either, because those are dangerous to both the people collecting garbage and to the trucks. Garbage trucks have been known to catch fire and sustain other damage due to people throwing out corrosive materials.

So, now that you know a little bit more about garbage collection services and how you can help them, make sure you’re being a courteous neighbor!