City councillor becomes garbage man for a day

Aidan Johnson saw Strathcona in a way he usually doesn't early Monday morning. He rode on the back of a truck as a garbage man.

The city councillor has heard a lot about garbage over the last year. He's heard about what he calls "Garbagegate," where a media investigation showed that city waste collection employees work fewer hours than their private counterparts.

He's heard that waste collection costs have increased $1.5 million since 2012. He's heard about how the city is examining its routes as a result of Garbagegate, and how injuries are high.

So the Ward 1 councillor suited up on Monday, hopped on the back of a truck and collected trash throughout the neighbhourhood.

He joined Terry Boyd, a 10-year trash collector, on the back of a truck. Johnson hoisted cans, crushed bags in the truck and even got down on his hands and knees and scooped up garbage when a bag burst.

"I'm sweating and there are juices up my sleeves," Johnson said after a few minutes.

Johnson has spent the last few months studying the waste division. As he heard about mounting costs, changing routes and lost-time injuries, he knew he needed to try it for himself.

From burst bags to overpowering stench of other people's trash, Johnson said he now has a new appreciation for what workers go through.

"I did not appreciate how complex pulling off garbage day is," he said. 

Burst bags are just one common problem of the job, Boyd said. Another is people tossing needles, knives, broken glass and other sharp objects in bags, which end up stabbing or swiping workers through their clothes.

But as for burst bags, "we probably get one a street." 

"Some bags are cheap, and you know as soon as you pick it up that the bottom's coming out of it," he said. "And in the freezing cold, they just explode."