Robert Crawford lines up the empty refuse bins after an early morning collection.
Robert Crawford goes where O'ahu's automated trash trucks can't.
The island generates about 1.5 million tons of waste a year from home, business and industrial sources, and much of that is picked up by automated trucks. But the trucks, operated by just one person, cannot function down some of the island's narrow roads and dead-end streets.
That is where Crawford and other city refuse workers using old-style trucks come in. With a driver and two crew members hanging on the back, the teams still lift and chuck tons of garbage by hand every day into the rear of the truck from neighborhood homes.
"The dead-ends, the automated truck cannot go inside," says Crawford. "They have right-arm loaders. No can turn around. We got to go pick up those areas. Town get plenty dead-ends."
Starting their workday at 5:30 a.m., crews can finish their route about 9:30 or 10 a.m. if they work hard and traffic is not too heavy. The bus strike has lengthened their day, Crawford says.
The garbage is taken to the Middle Street rubbish transfer station, where it is loaded into 40-foot containers and delivered to the H-Power plant or the WaimÅnalo Gulch Landfill.
"In some ways it's better to pick up rubbish by hand," says Crawford. "Got to be careful, plenty stuff in there that don't belong. Sometimes people put illegal rubbish in the automated cans that are covered and you cannot see. They throw in car batteries. If you empty the can by hand you can pull them out."
Car batteries and other fluids, oils and hazardous materials that need special handling are left on the sidewalk for bulk pickups, he says.
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| Above, refuse collector Jeff Hiro grabs some of the overflow in the Mo'ili'ili district, as Robert Crawford empties a trash can into the truck; left, collector Moses Neves is seen in the rearview mirror as students walk by on Beckley Street; bottom, Jeff Hiro and Robert Crawford ride on the back of their trash truck to the next stop. |  |
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About 15 percent of home trash is recyclable, including newspaper, aluminum, glass and plastic. About 25 percent to 30 percent is compostable yard trimmings.
Crawford is a floater who fills in on routes where needed and often works with fellow refuse collector Jeff Hiro. The crews meet at the city's Kaka'ako base yard, where they are assigned to routes for the day.
Crawford has lifted countless trash cans in his 12 years with the department and worn out dozens of T-shirts, jeans, gloves and military fatigues — the unofficial uniforms for refuse workers.
The city plans to close its Kaka'ako yard to make room for redevelopment, and Crawford isn't sure where he will be moving to.
But he does have a certain amount of job security, knowing there will always be more garbage to pick up.