Working with waste: how refuse companies are continuing service through the pandemic

Even for refuse companies and garbage collectors, who are used to dealing with waste, there's been a heightened awareness around sanitary procedures since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Steve Smith, owner and operator of Johnson County Refuse, which services the city of Washington, said his company began wiping down the internal parts of their trucks with alcohol cleaners between each driver, in addition to daily washes.

'We've never come across something like this. We've been in business for 35 years and we've never had a time like this before where you're concerned on a daily basis about whether someone gets sick,” Smith said.

The company's owner added his employees are used to wearing gloves but since the virus outbreak, he has also seen an increase in use of masks when his staff are in public. Still, trash collection has continued without changes for the most part. The only changes have been in the suspension of some bulky trash and recycling pick ups.

Smith's company, which has the benefit of using automated trucks for certain areas, can avoid some contact with commonly touched hard-surfaces. The owner noted it would be helpful to know which houses have active cases to even better protect his workers, though he also understands there are strict privacy issues related to the identity of patients.

'We haven't had anything yet. We've had guys tested but they came back negative,” Smith said. He explained a couple of his employees had traveled out of state in mid-March and were asked to self-isolate.

As a 32-person crew, an outbreak within the company would be a major issue.

'We can't stop taking garbage. It would be a mess if the whole crew got sick, so we're doing things that should be done to keep that from happening,” Smith said.

Mike Lance, who has run Lance Refuse Services in Mt. Pleasant since 1990, said he's also made mask's more readily available to his employees, but hasn't noticed any major increase in concern.

'I guess this isn't really the business for you if you're worried about germs and bacteria,” Lance said, 'We deal with it everyday but we're reminding and encouraging you know, wash your hands and don't touch your face, be careful.”

Lance added there's more attention paid to safety precautions but social distancing is hard to practice especially when two to three employees are riding in a truck at any one time.

'It's kind of business as usual. Our guys have their usual protective clothing, typical boots, long sleeves, to protect them from the everyday dangers of the job,” Lance added.

Like Smith, Lance's company has continued to forge ahead with very few changes and plans to continue serving the community through the pandemic.

'Trash has to be hauled. It's a critical need because otherwise you really have disease issues and unsanitary conditions. We have to go no matter what,” Lance said.