Million Tonnes - Hills Group

WASTE SOLUTIONSOn the road with KS 40Tracy Torr, communicationsassistant, spent a morningwith the kerbside crewIt’s 6.30am and the KS 40 team ispreparing for another day collecting andsorting Wiltshire’s recycling.At the Lower Compton depot LesBaldwin, driver, and loaders Denys Jonesand Matthew Strong swap jokes as theyget ready for the round. Les has gotthere early so he has enough time tocarry out routine maintenance checkson the vehicle before they’re ready tohead off.Each day vehicles are at work in thecounty collecting materials for recyclingput out by residents and then bringing itback to depots for processing. It is vitalwork which has helped to hugelyincrease the amount of material divertedfrom landfill.Our destination was Melksham and therewas little traffic on the road as we madeour way there. Through experience Lesmade sure we arrived just at 7am. Anyearlier and the crew are not allowed tostart collecting.Denys and Matthew swung in to actionwith practiced ease. They worked theirway along the rows of familiar blackboxes, hooking them on to the side of thevehicle. There are separate compartmentsin the vehicle for each of the items thatcan be recycled. The loaders swiftlyseparated out the items and then placedthe box upside down on the kerbside – toshow it had been emptied.Kerbside loaders work outdoors in allweather conditions. The work is veryactive and involves lifting, bending andcarrying heavy boxes so loaders must bephysically fit and strong enough to workat a fast pace.It was noticeable from the start that theteam have to work closely together so theycan complete the job to a high standard.The driver has a dual role, as well asmanoeuvring the vehicle; he also helps therest of the crew in the black box emptying.The on board camera assists the driverwhile he positions the vehicle, and I wasamazed at the vehicle’s manoeuvrability.The safety of the loaders was apparentthroughout my time with the crew. At alltimes heavy duty gloves, reflectivejackets, safety trousers, ear defendersand steel capped boots were worn.The crew also deal with assistedcollections from specific homes whereR-L Les Baldwin, Matthew Strong and Denys Jonesthe householder is unable to place theblack box onto the kerbside.By 2pm KS 40 had finished thecollection round having serviced around750 houses. The crew headed back toLower Compton so the material could beunloaded – and they could enjoy awelcome cup of tea.Tomorrow it would start all over again.intouch 13