I don’t know about you, but I’m always fascinated by other people’s lives, their jobs, their day to day.
All days, and jobs for that matter have good bits and boring bits. So here for anyone who’s interested, is a day in the life of a Freshbinz operative, it’s more exciting than you might think!
A typical work day starts around 8.00 am at our unit in Harlow where all our trucks live. Firstly, and most importantly, a cup of tea. Who doesn’t like to start the day with a cuppa? Then our day really starts, with a check of the vehicles and all the equipment. To make things easy and more efficient we have a check list that we run through for each vehicle to make sure everything, including all the equipment is in safe working order.
We also check stock levels on each vehicle, the PPE, deodoriser, cloths, disinfectant, bin stickers, everything we need to keep the business running efficiently. Next we check the tablets are all loaded with the day’s work. Each team member has their own login so that they can easily see the jobs assigned for them that day.
Then it’s time to hit the road and hunt down bins, not as easy as it sounds. Of course, we have to follow the hardworking bin men because we can’t clean a bin until it’s been emptied.
Unfortunately, for various reasons they’re not always able to follow the same route every week, so sometimes it means catching up with them to see where they’ve been or where they’re off to next. They’re always very helpful and let us know where they plan to be.
Once the bin has been cleaned and deodorised we always put a sticker on so that someone’s nice clean bin doesn’t accidentally get mixed up with their neighbour’s not so clean bin. When the bin is cleaned, it’s marked down on the tablet that we all carry, and thanks to our new software the customer is notified straight away.
Occasionally, empty bins and the bin men prove elusive, but this is just because they have a full truck and have to return to Buntingford to empty it. This usually prompts a lunch break, and we try to grab something from a local café because sandwiches that have been sitting in the vehicle all morning are not that appetising, especially in the summer months.
After a quick lunch and the return of the bin men, It’s good to check the tablet and see the list of jobs slowly going down.
Cleaning bins is hard work but satisfying, it’s good to know that we’re helping to keep people healthy while not damaging the environment. All the water we use is recycled and when we arrive back at base, the vehicles are pressure washed and the water emptied into a specially approved drain for which we have a licence.
Once the tablets are collected for charging and to upload the next day’s jobs, it’s off home for dinner and feet up. This is a fairly standard day, but of course there are days that are not at all standard, but that’s a story for another time!