I Tried Garbage Collection
I Tried Garbage Collection
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FunTranscript
00:00 in San Diego in the last year.
00:02 All three accidents were suspected to be caused
00:08 by lithium ion batteries that were thrown away
00:12 and ignited in the truck's compactor.
00:15 Garbage collection is ranked among the most dangerous jobs
00:18 in America, with even more fatalities
00:21 than active duty police officers.
00:23 And so today I am joining the garbage men
00:26 and women of San Diego to see what it's really like
00:29 to work on one of these trucks.
00:32 Challenge accepted.
00:34 (upbeat music)
00:39 - Wow, you're actually riding on here, look at you.
00:49 Have you ever been on a moving vehicle like this?
00:54 - No.
00:57 - Today I am working an eight hour sanitation shift,
01:00 which will include compost, recycling, and trash.
01:05 All leading up to my final challenge,
01:07 working one of the hardest trash routes in San Diego.
01:10 Yeah, nasty.
01:13 But before I do that, I need to learn the basics.
01:16 You can open the lid or you can keep the lid closed.
01:20 Most of the guys like the lids open.
01:23 Then you flip it.
01:26 (upbeat music)
01:28 See where Joaquin is?
01:29 That's the basketball zone.
01:31 Don't cross it.
01:33 - Why?
01:34 - So you won't get hit in the face with a can.
01:36 My job is, in one word, fantastic.
01:40 - Oh my God.
01:45 - Watch it, it's coming down.
01:48 - I'm sorry.
01:52 - You can't be scared.
01:53 It's confidence, you gotta build up your confidence.
01:57 If you afraid of the can, they know it.
02:00 - They know it.
02:01 - They know that you're afraid.
02:03 But I was still really intimidated
02:04 by the intricate mechanics of the truck itself,
02:07 because one wrong move or misplaced hand
02:10 could spell disaster.
02:12 Let go, 'cause you don't want it to pop.
02:15 This hand down.
02:16 If you leave your hand there, you're gonna get bit.
02:19 Like an alligator.
02:20 Like an alligator.
02:23 - So being a sanitation driver can be one
02:24 of the most dangerous jobs here
02:26 in the United States of America.
02:27 Not only are they lifting 50 pounds of trash
02:29 and flipping that in the back of the hopper,
02:30 but a lot of things can be protruding
02:31 out of the container, sometimes poles, right?
02:34 - This literally could stab somebody.
02:37 This was just in someone's garbage can.
02:39 It could have like speared somebody when we flipped it over.
02:43 And while there were a lot of frustrating moments
02:46 from the community like this,
02:48 I wasn't giving up on humanity just yet.
02:52 - You're on YouTube.
02:53 - Yeah, now you are too.
02:56 I'm here with Jackie.
03:00 We're picking up trash for today.
03:01 - Kids love sanitation drivers.
03:03 We have a lot of special relationships
03:05 between our customers and our drivers
03:06 that I think is really cool.
03:08 And it's really rewarding.
03:09 It's almost made me sit out of a police officer
03:10 or a firefighter, we're trying to get there,
03:12 but kids just love trash trucks.
03:14 - And then we give the kids stickers.
03:15 - Oh, want a sticker?
03:18 - Thank you.
03:19 - Thanks for watching my channel.
03:22 - Bye. - Bye.
03:23 Look at this, trash buster.
03:26 Wait, can I wear one?
03:27 Or is it for kids only?
03:28 - No, you can wear it.
03:29 - Yes.
03:30 - Kids are our future.
03:32 So they're gonna be the ones looking up to us.
03:35 They're gonna be the ones to inform their parents
03:37 on what to do and what not to do.
03:39 I love the kids.
03:41 - How long have you been doing this?
03:42 - 20 years.
03:43 - 20 years?
03:44 - 20 years, yes.
03:45 - Wow.
03:46 When we were at the meeting this morning,
03:49 I didn't see a single other girl there.
03:51 There's not many girls.
03:53 - Did people ever like doubt you?
03:56 - They always gonna doubt another woman
03:58 because of our height and our weight and our building.
04:00 That's why we work harder than them and show 'em.
04:04 I had experience in a different company,
04:06 not the city of San Diego,
04:08 but when I went to apply, they laughed at me.
04:11 They was like, "Oh, you wanna work in the office?"
04:13 I'm like, "No, I wanna drive the truck."
04:15 They was like, "You wanna drive this truck?"
04:18 I'm like, "Yeah, nah, you can work in the office."
04:21 So I didn't wanna apply at that company.
04:24 (truck rumbling)
04:27 It's like bowling.
04:30 - Wait, can I try?
04:32 - All right, push hard.
04:34 See, you gotta push harder.
04:36 You gotta get mad. - Get mad.
04:38 (truck rumbling)
04:41 - That was a good push.
04:42 (laughing)
04:44 That was an awesome push.
04:45 - Oh, we gotta go?
04:46 Okay, we're having too much fun.
04:48 With the truck loaded up,
04:49 it was finally time to make our first trip to the landfill.
04:53 - The landfill itself is quite the operation.
04:57 You have two ton pieces of machinery compacting that trash.
05:01 Growing up, I never knew that a sanitation driver
05:03 made three trips to the landfill on a daily basis.
05:06 And that's how much stuff we're accumulating
05:07 that we have to get rid of.
05:09 - Oh my God, it smells so bad.
05:12 Man, that is just so gross.
05:15 We're just walking around the landfill
05:17 and literally everywhere you look,
05:20 there are items that could have gone
05:21 to either recycling or greenery.
05:23 I mean, look at this.
05:26 Just wanna like clean my lungs after that.
05:29 Blech.
05:30 After visiting the landfill,
05:32 it was clear to me that there is a lot of confusion
05:35 about what is and isn't recyclable.
05:38 And so I was invited to work a shift
05:40 at a local recycling plant to see for myself.
05:44 Whoa, this is crazy.
05:47 Wow. - Sure is.
05:48 Big operation that we have here.
05:50 - This is nuts.
05:51 What's happening here?
05:53 - Everything that comes in that is not recyclable for us,
05:56 we'll go ahead and throw it in this bunker.
05:57 So a lot of styrofoam, plastic bags.
06:00 - You know what's interesting is some of these things here
06:02 are things I thought were recyclable, but they're not.
06:05 Like the towel, plastic. - They're not.
06:07 There isn't a home for 'em.
06:09 - This looks like it'd be fun to ride.
06:13 - Yeah, just the destination is not a very nice way.
06:18 - It all goes through a series of conveyor belts
06:20 to be sorted by material.
06:22 From cardboards and paper to glass and plastic,
06:26 everything has to be separated.
06:28 And each belt has a different, ingenious way of doing this.
06:32 Like this large drum magnet
06:34 used to separate anything made of ferrous metals
06:37 or this optical sorter that uses infrared light
06:40 to distinguish plastics by resin type.
06:42 And while these machines are incredibly efficient,
06:44 they're not perfect.
06:46 And so recycling plants utilize manual sorting
06:49 as their last line of defense.
06:52 I literally can't even look at it, it's going so fast.
06:55 Oh my gosh.
06:56 Oh, it smells so bad. - Oh, we got a diaper.
07:02 - A diaper?
07:03 - That's what it smells like.
07:05 - Who puts a diaper in the recycling?
07:08 - Somebody in San Diego.
07:11 - What's the craziest thing you've seen
07:13 come from the recycling?
07:15 - Skunks, roadkill,
07:17 big slab of cement.
07:20 Yeah, it's like somebody was taking out their patio,
07:25 they threw a big old piece of cement.
07:27 We had to break it on the conveyor belt.
07:30 - Up to 600 tons of material
07:32 can go through this plant in one day.
07:34 And one of the more dangerous items that can end up here
07:37 are lithium ion batteries.
07:39 - We actually lost the aluminum trailer
07:41 because we didn't notice that there was a battery in it.
07:44 It just, it took it all out.
07:46 It was up in flames, it made the news.
07:48 Luckily, nobody got hurt.
07:50 - When we were at SDSD,
07:52 they had three trucks that blew up
07:55 because of lithium ion batteries.
07:57 - With the rise of lithium ion batteries,
07:59 we're seeing a rise in the level of truck fires.
08:02 And so we're always encouraging people
08:03 to get rid of those things properly and safely.
08:05 That's extremely important.
08:07 - So what should we do with our lithium ion batteries?
08:10 I know I'm not the only one asking this question
08:12 because can lithium batteries be recycled
08:14 was one of the top 10 questions
08:16 searched about recycling in the US over the past year.
08:19 So I wanna give a special thank you to Google
08:21 for sponsoring this portion of the video.
08:23 Google Trends reveals what the world
08:26 is turning to Google for.
08:27 And in 2023, YouTube searches for sustainability
08:31 reached the highest level in the US in the past five years.
08:34 And if I'm being completely honest with you guys,
08:36 I have been feeling pretty embarrassed
08:38 the entire time we've been filming this video
08:39 because I have personally not always been the best
08:42 at sorting my own waste properly.
08:44 After seeing the consequences of my own actions in real life,
08:47 I personally really wanna recommit to being better.
08:50 If you're ever confused about how to dispose
08:52 of certain items or what goes in what bin,
08:54 Google Maps and Search can help you find local businesses
08:57 to dispose of plastic bags, electronics,
09:00 and even lithium ion batteries.
09:02 In addition to helping us be more sustainable,
09:04 Google knows it has a responsibility
09:05 as a large corporation to take action.
09:08 They're committed to sustainability
09:09 by matching 100% of their electricity use
09:12 with renewable energy since 2017
09:14 and aims to achieve net zero emissions
09:16 across all of their operations and value chain by 2030.
09:20 You can learn more about sustainability
09:21 and Google's efforts at sustainability.google.
09:24 So thank you so much to Google
09:25 for sponsoring a portion of this episode.
09:28 And now I am going to get out of this trash can.
09:30 After experiencing trash and recycling,
09:33 it was time for me to do greens.
09:35 That is compost, yard waste.
09:37 - There you go.
09:38 - And I quickly learned how much harder
09:39 this route was going to be
09:40 because I had to lift every single can by hand
09:43 and they can get heavy.
09:44 - Oh, that one's heavy, careful.
09:46 - This job requires you to lift
09:48 two to four tons of greens every day.
09:52 And that's where technique comes in.
09:54 You make it look so cool and easy.
09:56 - Try this one.
09:57 This is a different move too.
09:58 You can swing it in.
09:59 - Whoa.
10:00 - That boom.
10:01 - That was like Captain America throwing his shield.
10:03 Oh my God.
10:04 Is that what you call it?
10:05 Captain America swing?
10:07 - I guess.
10:08 - I feel like I'm going to like launch it.
10:10 - I'm going to watch you.
10:12 Good job.
10:14 Just careful with your wrist.
10:15 Yeah.
10:16 That one was heavy.
10:17 You're a natural.
10:20 - What if we Captain America together?
10:24 You go that side, I'll go this side.
10:24 - At the same time?
10:25 One, two, three.
10:27 - Oh yeah.
10:28 - How am I doing Joaquin?
10:34 - You're doing excellent.
10:35 You are.
10:36 - Are you just saying that because you're on camera?
10:38 - No, I'm saying that because you did a good job.
10:41 - Scale of one to 10, be brutally honest.
10:44 If you're lying, we'll know.
10:46 - Brutally honestly, as far as one to 10,
10:49 I'll give you a four.
10:51 - Four?
10:52 - You're almost there.
10:53 - Four out of 10 is not there.
10:54 That's an F.
10:55 - No, that's good.
10:56 I hope to get to a nine by the end of today.
10:59 - Yeah.
10:59 - I think I can do it.
11:00 - All right, yeah, I think you can.
11:03 - Still hoping I could improve before the end of the day,
11:05 we traveled to the Miramar Greenery,
11:08 where all the city's compost ends up.
11:10 - So this is where we dump our greens
11:12 and then the operation is, they make it into this mulch
11:16 and the city of San Diego residents
11:18 are able to purchase that.
11:20 - It's so impactful to see it in person
11:22 that if you just take the time and put it in the right bin,
11:25 whoever put plastic in their compost this morning,
11:28 you suck.
11:30 Do better!
11:32 That goes in the blue bin, right Joaquin?
11:34 - Yeah, it goes in the blue bin.
11:36 - Yeah.
11:37 And after a quick PSA,
11:39 it was finally time to empty the truck.
11:41 Whoa!
11:45 Oh my God!
11:48 What?
11:53 Oh my gosh, there's so much stuff coming out.
11:56 When we were driving up,
11:59 Jackie said something that really impacted me.
12:01 She said, "So many people put things in bins,
12:05 "but they don't even know what they're participating in.
12:08 "They just think that we're here to clean up their mess."
12:13 It's about respect.
12:14 I mean, it's respecting the people
12:16 who are doing this thing for you
12:20 that is thankless.
12:23 So this was actually supposed to be the end of the video,
12:27 but after talking to Joaquin and Jackie,
12:29 they wanted me to come back for just one more day
12:32 to really get the full experience,
12:34 to go on one of the hardest trash routes in the city.
12:39 Ready?
12:40 Nice to see you again, good luck.
12:42 - So historically, when trash service doesn't happen,
12:45 it can almost look like an apocalypse.
12:47 - Every moment that goes by,
12:48 the situation gets more serious.
12:50 We're up to over a hundred thousand tons now,
12:52 and the problem of collecting this garbage is tremendous.
12:57 - If a pothole takes one more day,
12:59 it's probably okay, right?
13:01 If the trash takes one, two, three, four,
13:03 or five more days, that's an issue.
13:05 - The trash is, I think as a result of the rain,
13:09 a lot heavier and more liquidy.
13:13 - Yeah, nasty.
13:14 - Do it, do it! - Oh my God!
13:17 - Do it!
13:18 - There you go.
13:19 - Toss it in the bag.
13:21 - I have definitely made a few mistakes.
13:24 - Slowly, slowly, slowly!
13:25 (Jackie screams)
13:27 - God (beep)
13:28 - It's okay.
13:29 - A few very embarrassing mistakes, actually.
13:31 Thank you.
13:32 (Jackie screams)
13:35 I'm so sorry.
13:36 - Are you okay?
13:38 Okay.
13:40 - Worst client experience ever.
13:42 Thankfully, I've got Jackie and Joaquin
13:44 teaching me how to do it right.
13:46 There's like so much technique to all of this.
13:50 (truck rumbles)
13:52 (Jackie gasps)
13:54 - Sorry.
13:56 - It's all right.
13:57 - The COVID-19 pandemic, I think really showed people
13:59 that number one, the trash can't stop.
14:01 It has to continue each and every day.
14:03 - Since everybody was quarantined,
14:05 all of our tonnage went up.
14:07 Our trash, our recycling, even our greens.
14:10 Our greens were ridiculous.
14:11 It's still even right now, it's still kind of evening out.
14:14 We still haven't gone back to pre-pandemic levels.
14:17 - We can't stop doing what we're doing.
14:19 We have to do our job.
14:21 It's just like the first responders.
14:22 You know, we serve.
14:23 - My job don't stop.
14:25 I gotta go to work rain, sleet, or snow.
14:28 I gotta be out there.
14:29 - Goes to a lot of hard work and dedication
14:32 to do a job like this.
14:33 It's not easy.
14:34 A lot of people are coping with the job
14:36 through laughter and jokes,
14:37 but behind that, there's misery, there's pain,
14:39 there's hard work, there's struggle, you know?
14:40 - It's definitely a tough job.
14:42 We work for every penny.
14:43 It's an extremely dangerous job.
14:44 Also, when you're picking up garbage,
14:46 there can be anything in there.
14:47 It's just, it's filthy.
14:50 - Oh my God.
14:51 - That's what we call the booty water.
14:53 - It takes heart and courage and ability.
14:55 This is a serious job.
14:57 - This is so hard.
14:58 - I just, I really wanna say thank you
15:00 to our sanitation drivers,
15:01 not only at the city of San Diego,
15:02 but throughout the entire United States
15:03 who showed up each and every day to get the job done.
15:06 - Thank you to all the people who started this.
15:08 We appreciate you so much.
15:09 - This job is not for everyone,
15:10 but it's definitely one of the jobs that is essential.
15:13 I'm thankful for the job.
15:15 - Tell 'em how you like your job.
15:17 - Tell 'em how you like this, man.
15:18 - Give that money back.
15:20 - Why are they helping?
15:20 - We help each other.
15:21 - Garbage men stick together.
15:22 - We help each other, man.
15:23 - That's why.
15:24 - But let me say to you tonight
15:26 that whenever you are engaged in work
15:30 that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity,
15:35 it has dignity and it has worth.
15:40 - I always thought that it could be better
15:42 during that time for sanitation workers.
15:44 I couldn't ride the bus home
15:46 because I smelled too bad.
15:48 So I didn't ride the bus, I walked home.
15:50 - This is where I spend majority of my time, here.
15:54 If you are not aware of what we do on a daily basis,
15:59 come out and say hi.
16:01 Come out and ask us.
16:03 Come out and talk to us.
16:05 We'll show you what we do
16:07 so you can appreciate what we do.
16:09 So, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying.
16:12 Sorry.
16:17 - It's not just a job.
16:18 This is your life.
16:19 This is your family.
16:21 This is how you feed your people,
16:23 you know, that you care about.
16:25 During the pandemic, we never gave up.
16:27 We came out every day.
16:30 We showed up every day.
16:31 We helped everyone that needed our help,
16:35 whether they was in our area or not.
16:37 You know, we just wanted to take care of the city.
16:41 I really appreciate having the opportunity
16:43 to be here, first line of defense.
16:47 You gotta love what you do.
16:50 And I love what I do.
16:51 So I show up every day.
16:53 So.
16:55 - Thank you.
17:00 - Oh my God, you're everything.
17:06 - I didn't mean to cry.
17:07 - No, you're fine.
17:08 Rainbow!
17:11 It's a rainbow!
17:13 - Oh! - It's just for us.
17:16 - Oh, that means good luck?
17:18 - Yeah.
17:19 (gentle music)
17:22 (thunder rumbling)
17:25 [Music]
17:27 [Music]