Many communities that implemented automated refuse collection programs report improved worker safety, increased productivity, and decreased collection costs. But has automated collection changed the workforce? Based on interviews with communities across the United States, the answer is a resounding yes, no, and sometimes.

By Susan Bush

Nobody can deny that work conditions are much more pleasant in a new, climate-controlled vehicle that the driver rarely has to exit. Haulers thereby avoid potential injury due to heavy and sharp objects, chemicals, dogs, fatigue, and exposure to the elements and odors.

Many employers agree that, all other factors aside, automation has improved morale within their department. Phyllis Garnes, secretary in the Department of Public Works in Toppenish, WA, says, "Now it's a gravy job. It used to be the hardest job."

Henry Garcia, sanitation supervisor for Burbank, CA's Department of Public Works, says, "It's more like a business (position) now - the crew members go home nice and fresh." Larry Miralles, sanitation manager for the City of Redding, CA, concurs. "There was kind of a stigma regarding people who hauled garbage years ago. At the end of the day, they looked like they'd been hauling garbage all day long. (With automation) these people don't. They stay clean. They might have to get out of the truck once or twice to adjust a cart, but for the most part they're sitting in the vehicle all day - they go home clean."

Longevity

One result of automation that many communities are noticing is that workers tend to stay in their positions for a longer period of time. Garnes relates, "We just retired a driver after 35 years on the job. He wouldn't have made it on the ground for 35 years. He was 65 when he retired."

Jerry Peters, field supervisor for the City of Greensboro, NC, Department of Environmental Services, adds, "We have some (crew members) capable of retiring, but they really don't want to. Personally I think they would have left by now if we were still on regular rear-packer service."

Sandra Little, administrative supervisor for Longmont, CO's Department of Public Works, also sees an increase in worker longevity in her department. She notes that before automation, the city "had a couple of employees who stayed for the long haul, but generally when people found a less strenuous job, they would jump ship - often to streets because the work is different, it's less strenuous. Now someone from streets just jumped back to sanitation, so it's kind of interesting."

Mirrales mentions a specific example of a female hauler who began her career in the city with manual collection. She went to the streets department to operate a jackhammer - a "less strenuous" position. After developing a shoulder injury, however, she came back to sanitation, as an automated collection driver. That would not have been a possibility for her if the city still had been on a manual collection system.

Ben Torres, district manager with the City of San Diego, CA's Department of Environmental Services, sees the same thing happening in his city. "Before automation, people would typically retire out to another department, often to street sweeping or to drive a tractor at the landfill, sometime in their fifties. Currently, of (a crew of) 200 or so, we have about a dozen who are in their sixties. So now folks are finishing their careers in sanitation."

Increase in Female Crew

Several communities indicate that they have not seen an increase in female drivers due to automation. Many have always had female crew members but suspect that less physically strenuous work and improved conditions eventually might attract even more females to the position. According to Judy Johnson, administrative assistant in Columbus, OH's Refuse Division, an increase in females is the biggest change the city has seen in its workforce since completing its conversion to automated collection in 1997. The city currently has 11 female drivers out of a total of 198.

Torres observes that he has not seen an increase in female refuse collectors since the city converted to automated collection; however, in San Diego the entry-level position is still manual collection.

Garcia says Burbank does not currently have a female crew member, but he believes women actually have a better temperament for the position. He thinks that most would be more polite and friendly with the residents and would place more emphasis on customer service.

Besides the issue of automation, there also are several tangential factors that come into play that have an impact on the composition of the sanitation workforce.

Relative Pay/Benefit Level

Naturally the level of pay and benefits earned by refuse collectors relative to other positions in the community, the department, and other city departments is one factor that must be considered. Higher pay, very simply, means more job applicants and a higher rate of worker retention.

Some communities indicate that simply by virtue of being a driver, rather than a helper, employees became eligible for a pay increase or moved into a new pay category that afforded them a higher potential salary when automated collection was implemented. In some cases, it would take several years for the salary increases to kick in.

Most communities indicate that automated-collection drivers earned a salary of 5-10% more than drivers of manual vehicles do, although some did not see an increase in pay.

Peters theorizes that because drivers are encountering fewer injuries, they tend to stay in the position long enough to earn merit increases. Prior to automation, they might transfer to another position within the city, leave for a job opportunity in the private sector, or go out on disability due to injuries before they had the opportunity to earn merit increases.

Johnson believes that the benefits and pay level for sanitation workers always have been a draw. The City of Columbus always has had employees who stay for 30 or 40 years and therefore did not see an increase in longevity due to automation.

Requirements of Position

The requirements of the hauler position obviously have an impact on the pool of eligible employees. In some cases, drivers of automated collection vehicles must have a CDL Class A license, and in some cases they must have a CDL Class B license. More stringent requirements tend to decrease the number of qualified applicants and are associated with higher pay grades.

In Longmont, for example, drivers once were required to have a Class B license. When the city went to automated collection, it made the requirements more stringent, requiring a Class A license, which, according to Little, has attracted a different, more professional type of employee. Many of the Class A drivers formerly drove long-haul tractor-trailer routes but saw the sanitation position as a way to stay closer to home. Similarly, when the City of Burbank implemented automated refuse collection (beginning in 1993), it began to require that refuse collectors have a high school diploma.

Structure of Collection Department

How the refuse collection division is structured also has an impact on whether automation will change the characteristics of job applicants. For example, in some communities such as San Diego, all haulers start out as manual laborers and move up the ladder to become automated-vehicle drivers.

In other communities, someone who drives an automated refuse collection vehicle might also be expected to collect yardwaste, perhaps using manual or semiautomated collection or to collect bulky waste manually. Some potential applicants might not apply for an automated refuse hauler position if they also are required to do these other tasks. In other cities such as Columbus, refuse drivers are only expected to collect refuse using automated collection vehicles.

Simultaneous Changes

In some cases, communities use the conversion to automated collection as an opportunity to implement other changes as well. In Honolulu, HI, for example, when the Department of Environmental Services's Refuse Division converted to automated collection, it also did away with what was called "uku pau," which is commonly known on the mainland as incentive pay. Once the crew finished its routes, in other words, they could leave for the day. Post-automation, collectors were required to work four, 10-hour days. With the termination of uku pau, many employees were no longer a good fit for the position and left the division. Those who did stay, however, according to Suzanne Jones, recycling coordinator and information officer for the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services, made the transition without a hitch. Jones, therefore, cannot say that automation has led to longevity among the crew; however, the real issue was the elimination of uku pau, not the introduction of automation. And, in the long run, the drivers who remained might indeed retain their positions far longer than previous collectors did.

Pitfalls of Progress

Some drawbacks to automation have been noticed by municipalities. Mike Hales, sanitation supervisor for Ogden, UT, admits that it took his workforce a couple of years to really get used to the automated vehicles.

Little reports that Longmont has had some cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, although these tend to be much less serious injuries than those sustained under manual collection. She also points out that the drivers of automated refuse collection vehicles do not have the companionship that they once had under the manual collection system, where they were working alongside one or two other crew members.

Hales asserts that although automated collection is physically less demanding than manual collection, it is a much more challenging position in other ways. Drivers must have good eye/hand coordination and have to be very alert and focused so as not to cause damage to property or injury to people - particularly since they have no other team members to alert them of potentially hazardous situations. He also notes another drawback to automated collection that many victims of technology can relate to: Since implementing automated collection in 1991, many of his crew members have gained weight.

There is no question that automated collection makes the refuse collectors' job more pleasant and safe, and in the long term it is likely to attract a more educated and diverse workforce. Automation already is resulting in increased longevity in the position, and communities are beginning to see a different type of worker emerge to fill these positions. Factors regarding structure of the solid waste department, pay and benefit level, alternative employment opportunities, and prerequisites for the position also impact the labor pool.

Guest author Susan Bush is an analyst with R.W. Beck in Narragansett, RI.

MSW - September/October 2003