Waste collector
Encyclopedia
A waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables
from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal. Specialised waste collection vehicle
s featuring an array of automated functions are often deployed to assist waste collectors in reducing collection and transport time and for protection from exposure.
British Isles
North America
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Former waste collectors
Fictional waste collectors
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal. Specialised waste collection vehicle
Waste collection vehicle
Garbage truck refers to a truck specially designed to collect small quantities of waste and haul the collected waste to a solid waste treatment facility. Other common names for this type of truck include trash truck and dump truck in the United States, and bin wagon, dustcart, dustbin lorry, bin...
s featuring an array of automated functions are often deployed to assist waste collectors in reducing collection and transport time and for protection from exposure.
Hazards
Waste collectors are exposed to many on-the-job hazards, such as chemical burns, disposable needles, broken glass, falling objects from overloaded containers, diseases that may accompany solid waste, asbestos, dog attacks, pests (ants, flies, cockroaches, rodents), dust, inclement weather, traffic, and foul odors.Regional colloquialisms
Australia- Garbage collector
- Garbageman
- Garbo
- Garbologist (jocular)
British Isles
- Dustbin man
- Bin man
- Dustman
- Refuse collector
North America
- Garbageman
- Garbage collector
- Trash collector
- Recycling Tech
- Toter Tipper
- Sanman (Sanitation Man)
- Sanitation Engineer (Political correctnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
)
Notable waste collectors
- Andy AbrahamAndy AbrahamAndrew Abraham is an English singer. He was the runner-up in the second UK series of TV talent show The X Factor in 2005 to Shayne Ward, and also represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.Before applying for The X Factor, Abraham was a refuse collector...
- X-FactorThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
contestant - Larry BirdLarry BirdLarry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
- hall of fame basketball player - Briefly after dropping out of Indiana UniversityIndiana UniversityIndiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
and before enrolling at Indiana State UniversityIndiana State UniversityIndiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
. - Michael CarrollMichael Carroll (lottery winner)Michael Carroll , born in Swaffham, Norfolk, UK, is a former binman who won £9.7 million on the National Lottery in November 2002, aged 19. His biography written by Sean Boru, entitled Careful What You Wish For , was published by John Blake Publishing in October 2006...
- UK National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
winner (got his job back in 2010 after he went bankrupt.) - Richard LeitermanRichard LeitermanRichard Leiterman was a well-known Canadian cinematographer, best known for documentary and feature film work in the 1960s and 1970s...
- CinematographerCinematographerA cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image... - Steve HutchinsSteve HutchinsStephen Patrick Hutchins , Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate for the state of New South Wales since October 1998, representing the Australian Labor Party.Hutchins was born in Sydney...
- PoliticianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making... - Nathan ReesNathan ReesNathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
- Politician, former Premier of New South Wales - Neville SouthallNeville SouthallNeville Southall MBE is a former Wales international footballer, best known for his time with Everton. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985...
- International footballer - Georges St-Pierre - Mixed martial artistMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
and UFC Welterweight Champion, (worked as a garbage man for 6 months) - Benjamin PellBenjamin PellBenjamin Pell is a British man who was noted for raking through the dustbins of law firms representing prominent people in search of incriminating or compromising documents that he could sell to the media....
- a quasi-private investigator known in the British press as "Benji The Binman". - Mike BattMike BattMichael Philip "Mike" Batt is a British songwriter, musician, producer and Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry...
- 1970s songwriter and IlluminatusIlluminatiThe Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
- his experiences as a waste collector drew him to write songs for The WomblesThe WomblesThe Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968...
, and inspired his haunting ballad, "I'm The Fattest Binman In Farnham". - Martin PhillipsMartin PhillipsMartin John "Buster" Phillips is an English former professional footballer.Phillips was born in Exeter and began his football career as a trainee with his local side Exeter City, turning professional in July 1994. He soon attracted the attention of higher division clubs and moved to Manchester...
- Welsh darts player who has made multiple appearances in the BDO World Amateur Darts Championship
Fictional waste collectors
- Alfred P. Doolittle (Stanley HollowayStanley HollowayStanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
), a common dustman, My Fair LadyMy Fair LadyMy Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
from the stage play, Broadway, 1956; London, 1958; Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
motion picture, 1964. - Barney Gorman (Tony DanzaTony DanzaTony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
) from the 1998 television film The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia PhenomenonThe Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia PhenomenonThe Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon is a 1998 television movie starring Tony Danza from Walt Disney Pictures.-Plot:... - Carl (Charlie SheenCharlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
) and James (Emilio EstevezEmilio EstevezEmilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
) from the 1990 film Men at WorkMen at Work (film)Men at Work is a 1990 American action comedy film written and directed by Emilio Estevez, and starring Estevez and his real life brother Charlie Sheen.-Plot:... - Howard Moon of The Mighty BooshThe Mighty BooshThe Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
has worked twice as a Bin man, once prior to the show and lastly in The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox. - Louie Wilson (Scatman CrothersScatman CrothersBenjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
) of Chico and the ManChico and the ManChico and the Man is an American sitcom which ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974 to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown , the cantankerous owner of a run down garage in an East Los Angeles barrio, and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic Chicano... - Mike DroeseMike DroeseMichael "Mike" Droese is a retired American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1994 and 1996 under the ring name Duke "The Dumpster" Droese.-Career:Droese was trained as a professional wrestler by Bobby Wales...
- Professional wrestler - Garbageman - From DilbertDilbertDilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
- Muckman - From Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
- Nicodemus (Noddy) Boffin, aka the Golden Dustman, in Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Our Mutual FriendOur Mutual FriendOur Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
, probably based on Henry Dodd, a ploughboy who made his fortune removing LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's rubbish. - The 1960s popular song "My Old Man's a Dustman" by Lonnie DoneganLonnie DoneganAnthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
- Bob and Doug McKenzieBob and Doug McKenzieBob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "Great White North", a sketch which was introduced on SCTV for the show's third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis and Doug is played by Dave Thomas...
, on their 2009 animated seriesBob & Doug (2009 TV series)Bob and Doug is a Canadian animated sitcom, which premiered on Global on April 19, 2009. The series is a revival of the SCTV sketch characters Bob and Doug McKenzie.... - The films Blood FeastBlood FeastBlood Feast is a 1963 American horror film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, often considered the first "splatter film". It was produced by David F. Friedman. The screenplay was written by Alison Louise Downe, who had previously appeared in several of Lewis' other films. Lewis also wrote the...
, Scanners III: The TakeoverScanners III: The TakeoverScanners III: The Takeover is the second sequel to the film Scanners, and the last film in the trilogy. It was directed by Christian Duguay. The story has nothing to do with the previous films, other than the Ephemerol drug...
and Child's Play 3Child's Play 3Child's Play 3, also known as Child's Play 3: Look Who's Stalking, is a 1991 horror film. It is the third installment in the Child's Play series with Brad Dourif returning as the voice of Chucky...
all feature minor characters being murdered with refuse trucks. - Roger Wilco - From the Space QuestSpace QuestSpace Quest is a series of six comedic science fiction computer games that follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named Roger Wilco, as he campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice and really clean floors"....
computer game series by Sierra EntertainmentSierra EntertainmentSierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
See also
- 2009 Leeds refuse workers strike2009 Leeds refuse workers strikeThe 2009 Leeds refuse workers strike was an eleven week industrial dispute in City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England between Leeds City Council and the city's binmen.-Background:...
- Beach cleanerBeach cleanerA beach cleaner is a vehicle that drags a raking or sifting device over beach sand to remove rubbish and other foreign matter. Beach cleaners are either manually hand-drawn or pulled by quad-bike or tractor. Seaside cities use beach cleaning machines to combat the problems of litter left by beach...
- Curbside collection
- LitterLitterLitter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
- Memphis Sanitation StrikeMemphis Sanitation StrikeThe Memphis Sanitation Strike began on February 11, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Citing years of poor treatment, discrimination, dangerous working conditions, and the recent work-related deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker, some 1300 black sanitation workers walked off the job in protest...
- WasteWasteWaste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
- Waste managementWaste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...