Recruiter Koen shares about his day as a garbage loader

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It was a summer day, in the middle of August. The Son office was asked by a customer to arrange an extra loader to help deal with the rush. “I said, if we can’t arrange a loader, I’ll help them out that day”, Koen says. “And yes, then of course I had to live up to my words.” 

Koen, recruiter at the 24/7 drive office in Son, looks back on the tough day. “You arrive 15 minutes early, so I had to report at 6:45 a.m.” There, Koen is paired with a driver and the route he’ll drive starts at 07:00 “The driver drives via 24/7 drive, so that was fun.”

The early start had many advantages, according to Koen, especially as the temperature hit 29 degrees that day. "You have to keep drinking a lot," he advises. "You walk a lot, at least 15 kilometers at the end of the day. Eating well and drinking well is very important in that case."

The heat made it challenging; Koen had certainly underestimated the work. “I really grew even more respect for the people who do this work on a daily basis and get on the garbage truck every day, because it’s just gruelling.” That it is a physical job is something he has had the pleasure of experiencing himself. Despite the fact that one day you will probably get used to it, Koen is convinced that working in the waste industry is not for everyone.

You see the garbage truck driving everywhere, even in your own neighborhood. Everyone has an idea of what the work entails, but Koen’s perspective has certainly changed after his day as a loader. “It’s a lot of mounting and dismounting, plus there are safety protocols involved because you are working with a dangerous machine. Hooking the container into the safety bar is really a trick you have to master first.”

Koen now takes the learning with him in conversations with customers and job applicants. With this knowledge in his pocket, it makes it easier for him to assess whether the work fits someone. “A lot of people, and I too, underestimate the psychical nature of the work”, he says. Koen now makes a better assessment of that. The flexibility of applicants is something he also takes into account, because one day can be a long one while the next day has a short route, making the day automatically a shorter one. 

“My route was GFT waste. In the summer, people have a lot of garden waste, which automatically makes the route longer. I think I was back around 5 p.m., which made it a 10-hour workday.”

A Waste Hero does not work very hard for one day, but every day, in all weathers. According to Koen, many people don’t stop to think about that. “You don’t always think about how hard such a person has worked. All in all, I think it’s very good that I tagged along with them for a day. You have to experience it yourself to know what the job entails.”

Koen’s word of thanks to all the Waste Heroes of 24/7 drive: “I want to thank all the Waste Heroes for their commitment and for your good work. Both the loaders and the drivers, you work through all kinds of weather, and that certainly deserves our appreciation. So on that note: Thank you!“