The Gazette-Enterprise

There are some men in this world who get more done by 8 a.m. than the rest of the working world does all day — and some of them are busy picking up your garbage.

Americans often have little respect for the men who come once or twice a week to suburban America, empty a week’s worth of accumulated trash into a smelly diesel truck and take it to the landfill.

HEADING OUT

Garbage collection is indeed a world all its own.

The days typically start at 4 a.m. and can go longer than 12 hours, depending on the number of trash cans that need attention and whether or not a route driver needs more help.

Monday morning was typical for IESI driver Benjamin Frausto and his helper, Terry Simmons, who were preparing to start their first route of the week — exactly 45 minutes behind schedule.

The stars were still visible as the truck pulled out of the IESI parking lot, heading toward McQueeney and New Braunfels.

The truck was silent. Well, except for the sound of Tejano music that spilled from the speakers of a beat-up boom box wired into the console.

The music was too much, too early in the morning for Simmons, who changed the station before lighting up his first cigarette.

The pair got to their first house at 4:45 a.m. Simmons hopped out of the truck and snatched up a green plastic trash bin waiting beside the curb. He tossed the bin’s contents into the rear of the truck — a process he would repeat at least 600 times more, all in one day.

Three blocks later, Simmons climbed back into the cab, as the truck pulled away from the unlit street.

GARBAGE?MAN 101

Simmons is not a morning person. But he has a noble reason for doing what he does.

“What motivates me is waking up every day and seeing my kids, knowing they need a lot more than what they’ve got,” says Simmons, who worked for the Koehler Company for five years prior to taking a job with IESI.

Nestled on the dashboard, next to the boom box, is Simmons’ study guide. He’s using it with hopes of obtaining his commercial driver’s license — which would provide more income for his three sons.

Like Simmons, Frausto — originally from Mexico by way of Chicago — works hard and steady.

For four years, Frausto has either been on back or behind the wheel of a garbage truck.

But before beginning his career with IESI, Frausto worked in a slaughter house in Chicago.

Unlike some in their line of work, Frausto and Simmons don’t have a problem being called the “garbage man.”

But there are certain things they’ve found on their route that can be irritating.

Frausto said his biggest pet peeve is people who dump their ashes from the barbecue pit into the can without bagging them. Simmons grouses about using the cheap trash bags that break.

“All that does is put us behind schedule when I have to stop and clean up the mess,” he said. “That is just a waste of time.”

While the two will pick up almost anything, there are certain items that can be hazardous —such as used motor oil, air conditioner parts and tires, which can spark a fire inside the truck’s hopper.

“That happened to me in Wimberley,” Frausto said.

During a regular work day, they’ll drive more than 100 miles and collect about 13 tons of garbage from about 600 cans of trash.

Both said the worst part of the job is the smell that comes with it.

But it also has its benefits

Simmons says despite the smell, he loves the work because it helps him stay motivated and stay in shape.

“You are always doing something,” he said. “You aren’t sitting waiting for something to happen. It’s pretty cool.”

However, Simmons said anyone can get hurt if they aren’t careful.

“It may look simple, like, ‘all he’s doing is throwing cans,’ but you can get hurt very seriously out here,” he said. “Especially these roads. They aren’t all fine and dandy. You hit a dip, you could fly up.”

None of that has ever happened to Simmons, but he has found some unusual things in the garbage.

“A deer head popped up on me once, horns and all. Now that was a trip,” Simmons said.

Periodically, Frausto jumps from his driver’s seat and runs to help Simmons when there are multiple cans of garbage.

He is grateful it isn’t a holiday.

“Thanksgiving, Christmas and News Year’s are the worst,” Frausto said. “We’ve always got a lot to pick up after those days.”

One stop after another, Frausto checks the route book shoved next to his seat before jumping out again to help Simmons.

“We are catching up,” he said. “We’re only 25 minutes behind schedule now.”

At 8 a.m., as most people are heading to work, Frausto and Simmons stop for a quick lunch consisting of tacos and a cold drink.

Frausto eats quickly in silence, while Simmons talks between big bites of a bean and cheese taco about his first week as a garbage man.

“I didn’t know I was that out of shape,” he said. “I couldn’t walk after that first week, and I was wondering if I could handle this.”

But a year later, Simmons, who’s braved bugs, landfills, inclement weather and cheap trash bags doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

“You don’t make your job harder, you make your job easier,” Simmons said. “I ain’t going anywhere unless they don’t want me no more.”

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