RealAnswers Vol 4 Issue 3

On September 13, 1999, Hurricane Floyd, with winds
of 154 miles per hour, heads toward the Florida coast.

As we drive through the neighborhoods served by BFI’s operation in Davie, Florida, Glenn Gillespie and Luke Lewis’ combination radio/cell phones are constantly ringing, beeping, chirping and squawking, but both Glenn and Luke take it all in stride.

One community wants to know if its trash will be picked up tomorrow. Another, not a regular customer, urgently requests BFI make a special pickup today. Luke arranges for extra hands and vehicles to handle that one, while Glenn gets reports on incoming tires, fuel and other supplies.

Hurricane Floyd is coming.

How important is BFI to its neighbors?
Bob Hely, district manager: “We consider what we do to be right up there with electricity, water, gas and telephone service. Everyday life generates trash and recyclable materials that have to be hauled away or we’d drown in them. Our job is essential to maintaining quality of life for the communities we serve.”

What kinds of services do you provide?
“In residential neighborhoods, we make two trash and one recycling pickup a week. Each of our rear-loading trucks stops at about 1,300 homes a day, picking up about two full loads, or 25 tons a day, six days a week. With 27 trucks, that’s over 4,000 tons a week. “We run 13 recycling routes, and those vehicles pick up about nine tons a day, six days a week, or about 700 tons a week. “Our commercial services pick up from office buildings, apartments, shopping centers and construction sites. Our front- loaders, which handle the big trash bins you see everywhere, collect about 28 tons a day, almost 1,700 tons a week.”

Where does all this stuff go?
“We bale the plastic, steel, cardboard and aluminum and send it off for recycling. In our area, the rest goes to transfer stations. There, some of it is burned in incinerators, and some is buried in pits.”

Do you take trash to landfills?
“Not very much around here. At transfer stations, we drive in and unload onto concrete. We rarely go off the road except to pick up large roll-off units at construction sites.”

How much trash is that all together?

“Pretty close to 12 or 13 million pounds of solid waste every week.”

Glenn Gillespie explains BFI’s preparations for dealing with Hurricane Floyd.

That must save a lot of wear and tear on tires.
Glenn Gillespie, district maintenance manager: “If only it did! Unfortunately, when you make 1,300 stops a day, then add all the backing, turning and maneuvering our trucks do, you’re still going to be hard on tires. “And, here in Florida, the asphalt is filled with broken shell and coral, which is very abrasive.

What kind of tires were you using?

“We need steer tires that can handle a 20,000 pound front axle load, so we were using an on/off-highway design. Then, Bridgestone provided us with the R296, which is actually an on-highway tire, but specially designed for the kind of work we do.”
Editor’s Note: Please see the related story, “Product Focus,” which begins on page 14.

How has the R296 performed for you?

“We estimate that we’re getting about 15 weeks of service from the R296. That’s about a 15 percent improvement in original tread life, which means much less downtime and tire changes for us.”

Do you do your own tire maintenance?

“We’re very conscientious about that. Our dealer supplies us with mounted wheels, but at our shop,

How do you prepare for a potential disaster like Hurricane Floyd?

“For one thing, we stock up on extra tires. If a hurricane comes, we’ll be running lots of extra routes, picking up debris. “Experience tells us our tire dealer may find it difficult to get tires to us in the aftermath of a storm – roads may be impassable, and they may be busy taking care of the big off-road vehicles involved in clean-up efforts.”

What part do you play in the clean-up?
Luke Lewis, operations manager:

“Actually, our role starts before a storm ever hits. As Glenn said, we have to lay in a bunch of supplies to get ready, extra tires, extra fuel, batteries, and so on. “

And we do other things as well. We’ll be emptying as many of our commercial customers’ containers as we can. That way, once the storm is over, they’ll have room for debris.”

“We also try to get as many residential pickups done as we can, right up to the last minute.”

Operations manager Luke Lewis and driver Pedro Cruz prepare for Hurricane Floyd by planning special pickups for BFI’s commercial customers.

What will you do if a storm seems imminent?
“We’ll move as many trucks as we can into our service bays. That will take care of about a dozen. The rest we’ll park nose-to-nose to help protect their windshields. Then, we’ll hope for the best.”

And after a storm?
Luke Lewis: “Our trucks will be out as soon as it’s safe, helping the communities we serve clean up debris. Our drivers will have

Why is that?
Glenn Gillespie: “Any loose trash has the potential to become a deadly missile in a storm.
I’ve seen blunt-ended 2x4s picked up and driven completely through palm trees by hurricane
force winds. People even climb up and pick
unripe coconuts because those could
become ‘cannon balls.’”

chainsaws, so they can help by cutting up tree branches to haul them away. “We also make our trucks and crews available to other communities that might be harder hit. In an emergency like this, we have to help each other out and get the streets cleared, so that emergency vehicles and utility service trucks can get through.”

How well do you get along with customers?

“Community relations are critical in our work. Nobody wants trash accumulating in their neighborhood. Our goal is to make sure, at every residential stop, that the trash containers are emptied and any loose items are picked up.
“We turn the containers upside down to drain, and to prevent them from collecting rain water, and we make sure the lids are close by. Our trucks are washed and deodorized twice a week, and we deodorize every commercial container after we empty it.
“We estimate that our people touch the lives of our neighbors over 280,000 times a week. People remember us. If one of our crew members changes to another route, someone may ask where he’s gone. If one of our trucks is a half hour later than usual, we might get a call.
“Today, we’re going to pick up from 5,000 homes that aren’t even regular customers – yet. They’re hurting and have a need, so we’re going to show them how important service is to us.”

Sounds like you place a high value on a positive community image.
Bob Hely: “What we do isn’t glamorous, but it is essential. And yes, community image is important. Everything Glenn and Luke and I do is oriented toward supporting the people in our shop and the people out in the neighborhoods – our employees and our customers.”

Editor’s Note: Floyd largely bypassed Florida, ravaging the Carolinas with torrential rains. We’re glad BFI’s preparations proved unnecessary – this time.

Jorge Rivera of Olson Tire Truck Tire Centers in Lauderhill, Florida, has been working with BFI’s Davie operation for about two years. “They do a great job of maintenance,” says Jorge.

Jorge Rivera readies tires for delivery to BFI.

“Refuse hauling is some of the hardest service for tires. Combine brake heat from all the stops with all the starting, turning and maneuvering, and you can have burned, crystallized beads, fast wear and poor retreadability.
“In spite of the conditions BFI encounters, we’ve seen casings good for up to seven retreads, and the average is four.
“We deliver about 225 mounted tires a month, about three quarters of them retreads. We also refurbish wheels and perform regular fleet surveys.
“With Floyd headed our way, Glenn asked us to get as many spares to him as we could. If the hurricane had hit our area, roads could have been closed for three or four days, preventing us from getting or delivering any tires.
“We sent BFI 47 tires in one day – about a four day supply. As it turned out, Floyd missed us and they didn’t need them, but we were glad we were able to help.”