Santa:
I happened to be outside on bin day this week and watched how they organise it.
It was a three-man crew and the driver stayed in the cab. The other two took one side each, and the truck hardly came to a stop. It may be that it’s different in cul-de-sacs where there might be a lot of bins without moving the truck, ut we are a through road.
This is the way we work it for a three man crew the only time the driver gets out is if he you backs into a dead end where all the bins are in one area or a narrow side street needs the bins pulling out because the wagon cannot back in.
Some wagons only have a two man crew and in these the driver does his share to get the job done faster, these rounds are usually more rural where you are driving a lot of the time between the areas where you are collecting.
Santa:
I happened to be outside on bin day this week and watched how they organise it.
It was a three-man crew and the driver stayed in the cab. The other two took one side each, and the truck hardly came to a stop. It may be that it’s different in cul-de-sacs where there might be a lot of bins without moving the truck, ut we are a through road.
It’s clear that the dustcart ‘driver’ shortage actually means less than a surplus of drivers who are willing to take on the job including all the ‘other duties’.
While just like the job of driver there is no such job as dustcart ‘loader’.
NUPE,TGWU and GMB would have gone into demarcation meltdown over these types of job advert if it was the 1970’s.
Dustcart drivers drove or if not needed sat in the canteen or claimed their redundancy pay, dustcart crews did the bins, street cleaners/groundsmen did the litter picking.
threerivers.gov.uk/egcl-page/refuse-loader
As for contractors the council’s outside contracts joint waste team still dictates the terms of the job if it’s contracted out.While as usual agencies will say anything to try to fill unnattractive roles.
Been driving them four years, although had a two month ‘break’ whilst having another go at tramping.
I think people either love it or hate it, seen a lot of agency bods not even last a day either cos they didn’t think they had to help the loaders or because of the numerous amount of reversing involved.
Personally I enjoy the physical aspect of the job as it definitely keeps you fit and I find it way easier than trying to concentrate up to 10 hours a day just driving.
Also helps a lot if you can get on with your crew, can make the days very enjoyable but a nightmare if you don’t!!
One bad point, at our depot anyway is the difference in pay between loaders and driver/loaders. £1 an hour!!! With that you are responsible for the crew, lorry and taking the crap from management. This is supposedly being addressed but will believe it when I see it!!
Carryfast:
It’s the principle of effectively signing up to the job of ‘loader’/driver.
Bearing in mind that the job of ‘loader’ doesn’t stop at wheelie bin labourer.It often also means grounds maintenance, litter picking etc.So it’s possible to be given a barrow and litter picker or a fork and spade and wheelbarrow and told that’s your job for 6 months or even permanently suddenly we’ve got more than enough house refuse collection ‘drivers’.
Good to see you still live in that dystopian hell that is your mind
Carryfast:
.It often also means grounds maintenance, litter picking etc.
What is the image of Waste Transfer Stations you’ve got in your mind? They tend not to be located in the grounds of stately homes.
Nearly there again:
silverman:
Not too worried about the driving aspect. Had a class one licence for 20 years and done lots of varied class one and two driving in the past
Cant be that good a driver if after 20 years of being a trucking god your demoted to stinking bins and throwing rubbish in the back of trucks.
On the contrary; he’s the perfect driver from an employer’s point of view. Absolutely the right attitude and no prima donna issues. Respect.
Cant be that good a driver if after 20 years of being a trucking god your demoted to stinking bins and throwing rubbish in the back of trucks.
We have had many artic drivers come to us because its Monday - Friday work, good holiday entitlement, pension, and job and finish but many do not stick it due to the amount of tight reverses they need to do every day, car drivers don’t care where they abandon their cars making reversing far tighter than it needs to be, rounds were often set up donkeys years ago when there were far less vehicles on the road and its now a nightmare as the same size vehicles are still expected to do these reverses.
If drivers obeyed the rule that the nearest you can park to a junction is 10 metres (or 32 feet) the job would be a lot easier and safer.
Oh and you don’t throw rubbish in the wagon you put the closed wheelie bin on the bin lift and the wagon does the rest its not 1980!
.
D.Thompson:
If drivers obeyed the rule that the nearest you can park to a junction is 10 metres (or 32 feet) the job would be a lot easier and safer.
Nods in agreement. I had a regular drop in Treorchy where this is a real problem; narrow streets of terraced houses built before cars were even invented, two cars to every household and with no spare land to create extra parking space; exacerbated by the fact that Valley folk are far too lazy to walk more than five yards anyway.
What’s needed though is for the police, councils or whoever is responsible to actually enforce it. Nothing like a few parking fines to sharpen the mind up.
check ROBERT MIHALACHE on youtube. He is vloger UK lorry driver. His last 2 vlogs are driving bin lorry. Hope it will help.
Sidevalve:
D.Thompson:
If drivers obeyed the rule that the nearest you can park to a junction is 10 metres (or 32 feet) the job would be a lot easier and safer.
Nods in agreement. I had a regular drop in Treorchy where this is a real problem; narrow streets of terraced houses built before cars were even invented, two cars to every household and with no spare land to create extra parking space; exacerbated by the fact that Valley folk are far too lazy to walk more than five yards anyway.
What’s needed though is for the police, councils or whoever is responsible to actually enforce it. Nothing like a few parking fines to sharpen the mind up.
I think they have given up.
Its got to the stage now where we use smaller vehicles 12t and 7.5t as the big wagons cannot get into a lot of places anymore, the problem is there are way too many cars and not enough places to park its got to the stage where don’t even try due to badly parked cars and we go back later and try again this adds time and extra miles (fuel cost) to the job.
I’ve seen a job advertised working for a local recycling firm. It’s transferring waste to a transfer centre. Not domestic bin collections. Basically the job involves taking a truck from the site, tip the load then off you go again.
Anyone done this type of work?
I’ve done a lot of work driving artic ejectors for London Waste carrying from Transfer Station to landfill and one of the best agency jobs I did in all honesty. Easy work and driving a fully loaded artic off road is great fun. Well, mostly, until you have to get out in knee deep waste to attach the chain for a tow
RogerOut:
I’ve seen a job advertised working for a local recycling firm. It’s transferring waste to a transfer centre. Not domestic bin collections. Basically the job involves taking a truck from the site, tip the load then off you go again.
Anyone done this type of work?
I haven’t done this but a company does that here, basically reverse into loading bay at the transfer station and when loaded drive to recycling centre an hour away and tip our council doesn’t use landfill, it’s always the same drivers so it must be OK if you can stand the smell.
RogerOut:
I’ve seen a job advertised working for a local recycling firm. It’s transferring waste to a transfer centre. Not domestic bin collections. Basically the job involves taking a truck from the site, tip the load then off you go again.
Anyone done this type of work?
Many moons ago, I did transfer work in Swansea fir a while, from the baling plant in Llansamlet, to the landfill site near Jersey Marine. The collected refuse was pressed into bales (after it was checked for various things which weren’t supposed to go into landfill iirc) which were automatically loaded on trailers with drop sides. You hooked up a loaded trailer, rolled over the net, and drove the few miles to the land fill. Onto the landfill as directed, get out ( 
), roll up the net, drop the sides, wait for shovel to push bales off the trailer. Put sides back up, drive back to transfer station, drop empty trailer, pick up loaded trailer, rinse and repeat. 6 trailer a shift, bonus paid if you did a 7th trailer.
Not a nice job, when its warm, the flies are everywhere, the rubbish stinks, you drag it into the cab, the cab stinks, you stinks…
When it rains, it’s worse… 
the nodding donkey:
the rubbish stinks, you drag it into the cab, the cab stinks, you stinks…
When it rains, it’s worse…
At least on the council doing multi lift bulker/tipper/flat work it was a unique combination of refuse, fresh dug earth and clay and grass growing on the cab floor with a bit of diesel here and there.
Carryfast:
the nodding donkey:
the rubbish stinks, you drag it into the cab, the cab stinks, you stinks…
When it rains, it’s worse…
At least on the council doing multi lift bulker/tipper/flat work it was a unique combination of refuse, fresh dug earth and clay and grass growing on the cab floor with a bit of diesel here and there.
Tipping at landfill is not nice but if like us you tip at a place like this its fine, no minging wagon cab for us. (skip the first 16 seconds)
youtu.be/7-J12MVCS4Q
If anyone thinking of driving bin lorries this guy is good for an insight into the job,
youtube.com/user/wheelerd02
Sent from my SM-T976B using Tapatalk
Is dustcart work pretty much Mon- Fri?
Anyone know what the pay is for the dustcart drivers for Biffa?
RogerOut:
Is dustcart work pretty much Mon- Fri?
Anyone know what the pay is for the dustcart drivers for Biffa?
We work Monday to Friday but a lot of councils are trying to move to Tuesday to Friday to avoid paying overtime on bank holiday Mondays.
How much does a Hgv Driver at Biffa make?
The typical Biffa Hgv Driver salary is £12 per hour. Hgv Driver salaries at Biffa can range from £9 - £12 per hour. This estimate is based upon 5 Biffa Hgv Driver salary report(s) provided by employees or estimated based upon statistical methods. When factoring in bonuses and additional compensation, a Hgv Driver at Biffa can expect to make an average total pay of £12 per hour.
glassdoor.co.uk/Hourly-Pay/ … %20methods.
D.Thompson:
Cant be that good a driver if after 20 years of being a trucking god your demoted to stinking bins and throwing rubbish in the back of trucks.
We have had many artic drivers come to us because its Monday - Friday work, good holiday entitlement, pension, and job and finish but many do not stick it due to the amount of tight reverses they need to do every day, car drivers don’t care where they abandon their cars making reversing far tighter than it needs to be, rounds were often set up donkeys years ago when there were far less vehicles on the road and its now a nightmare as the same size vehicles are still expected to do these reverses.
If drivers obeyed the rule that the nearest you can park to a junction is 10 metres (or 32 feet) the job would be a lot easier and safer.
Oh and you don’t throw rubbish in the wagon you put the closed wheelie bin on the bin lift and the wagon does the rest its not 1980!
.
If its bulk uplift you do throw , cant fit that in a bin but I’m sure you knew thatl