Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.03.1997, Page 4

4 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Fridayr 21 March 1997
It’s a dirty job but someone’s got to do it
Reykjavík’s 70 refuse collectors bin the entire city’s household garbage under often trying and hazardous conditions.
By Gary Wake
lceland Daily News
Garbage, rubbish, trash, call it
what you like but one way or
another it has to be dispensed
with. Most of us take its collection for
granted. We know that once a week our
household refuse will be taken away by
people we hardly ever see and so long as
they don’t leave a mess and retum our
wheeled plastic bin we give them no more
thought.
In Iceland, with its often inclement
weather, the work of a refuse collector
can be a difficult one. When it’s howling
gale blowing you off your feet, lashing
rain in your face, or when streets are
glazed with perilous ice or covered with
a liberal dumping of snow, this is when
doing this line of work can be a test of
will. But still it gets done.
Johann Bjarnason, one of the
drivers of Reykjavík city’s twelve
bright yellow garbage trucks, arrives at
work every weekday at 6 a.m., come
rain or come shine, or snow for that
matter. His first task is to empty the
truck at the dumping station. Some-
times he’ll make two trips a day to the
dump but usually, the nine or ten tons
of rubbish he and his four man crew
collect each day waits in the truck until
the following moming.
“Apparently, its cheaper for the city
for us to unload early in the moming and
have the trash dealt with at the dump
earlier in the day than it would be to dump
it in the aftemoon,” he explains.
Clean up time
By 7 a.m. the jovial Bjamason has
collected his crew, who range in age
from 19- to 50-years-old, and driven
them to their designated collection area
for the day. Bjamason sits in the cab
keeping an eye on the street and the
collected bins at all times. For four
years he was a collector but switched
to driving three years ago. He knows
how tough the job can be especially in
the winter months.
“It can be very hazardous,” he says.
“Often the men are walking down icy
slopes and steps and sometimes they
slip and in some cases have broken a
leg or arm as a result. I had nails put in
the soles of my boots when I was
walking to make things a little safer for
me.” He says the prevailing weather
conditions greatly influence the
efficiency and speed of the job.
“In bad weather strong winds can
blow over the bins so we can’t send a
man or two ahead bringing the bins out
from the apartment blocks and houses
onto the street. It is much heavier on
the men if the snow is deep as it’s
difficult to drag the bins because they
have such small wheels on them.
Everything slows down and you always
have to watch the bins so they don’t fall
over.”
Bjamason reckons that on average
the collectors walk 25-30 kilometers a
day.
their round at 11 a.m. and are usúally
finished by 2:30 p.m.
Every occupation has its good
points and bad points. Bjamason says
most collectors appreciate finishing
early and having most of the day to
themselves.
“It’s not a very exciting job, some
would even say it is boring, so you have
to have something to lift you up,”
Bjamason says, although there was one
Fire in the hold
“In the summer life is lighter—just
like the days. The work is easier, the
weather is not slowing you
down,” he recalls.
Continued on
page 7
In the winter, however,
dressed in bright orange
thermal clothing, gloved, with
warm hats and sometimes face
masks, the men work diligently
alone with their thoughts from
7 a.m. until 10 a.m. when they
take a break for an hour. During
the immediate period after
Christmas and Easter they begin
an hour earlier to deal with
what Bjarnason terms “an
extraordinary amount of
rubbish.” They resume
(Zalendar of <£vents
Sat. Mar. 22
Arborg, MB
Sat. Mar. 22
Arborg, MB
Sat. Mar. 22
Betelstadur
Sat. Mar. 22
Burnaby, BC
Thu. Mar 27
Vancouver, BC
Thu. Mar. 27
Winnipeg, MB
Sat. Apr. 5
Wynyard, SK
Sat. Apr. 12
Toronto, ON
Sat. Apr. 12
Brandon, MB
Sun. Apr. 20
Wed. Apr. 23
Winnipeg, MB
Thu. Apr. 24
Winnipeg, MB
INL Executive Meeting — 2 p.m., Arborg Sunrise Lodge
(preceeding Arborg Thorrablot).
Arborg Þorrablót Dinner/Dance. Arborg Community Hall.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner at 7 p.m. Music by 4Ds.
Frances Catering. Adults $22. Children under 12 $10. Call
Lillian, 204 / 376-2620 or Gudrun at 204 / 376-2759.
The Jón Sigurdsson Chapter IODE — 1 p.m., Birthday
Bridge and Whist Dessert Party and Bake Sale at the
Betelstadur. Admission $6.
Movie Night, “Destination lceland” and “Emil i Kattholti” at
7:30 p.m. at lceland House.
Solskin Easter Party — 2 p.m., Hofn, 2020 Harrison Dr.
Lestrarfélag (“Reading Society”), W.D. Valgardson, Gentle
Sinners — 7:00 p.m., Nordic House, 764 Erin St.
Vatnabyggd Þorrablót — Open 6 p.m., buffet 7 p.m.
Program and dance. Wynyard Civic Centre.
Phone 306 / 328- 2077.
ICCT Þorrablót — 6:30 p.m. Annual Dinner Dance
featuring lcelandic foods. North York Memorial Hall, 5110
Yonge St. Adults $25. Phone 416 / 762-8627.
Fálkinn, the lcelandic-Canadian Club of Westem
Manitoba Þorrablót — 6 p.m. cocktail hour, 7 p.m.
Icelandic dinner, 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. at the University Dining
Hall. Phone 204 / 727-6441.
INL Executive Meeting. Time and place TBA.
Icelandic Canadian Frón, Sumardagurinn Fyrsti — Open at
6 p.m. Nordic House, 764 Erin St.
Lestrarfélag (“Reading Society”), Gisli Saga (Penguin
Classics)— 7:00 p.m., Nordic House, 764 Erin St.
Apr. 25-27
Calgary, AB
Thu. May 8
Winnipeg, MB
Sat. May 10
Vancouver, BC
Tue. May 20
Toronto, ON
Thu. May 23
Vancouver, BC
May 23-25
Sandy Beach, AB
May 23-25
Gimli, MB
Thu. May 29
Winnipeg, MB
Sat. June 7
Vancouver, BC
Tue. June 17
Winnipeg, MB
INL 78th Annual Convention. For information, ca.ll INL in
Gimli; 204 / 642-5897 or Evelyn Thorvaldson at 204 /
488-2160.
ICF Annual Meeting — 7 p.m. Nordic House, 764 Erin St.
Luncheon and Bake Sale — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oakridge
Lutheran Church, 585 West 41 st Avenue.
ICCT Annual General Meeting — 8 p.m. Includes Election
of Officers — your chance to get involved!
Solskin Maytime Party — 2 p.m., Hofn, 2020 Harrison Dr.
Icelandic Language Experience. Join a fun-filled family
learning weekend with the opportunity to hear and to con-
verse in the lcelandic language. Call June, 403 /
459-8624.
The lcelandic Presence in Canada: A Symposium
organized by the Dept. of lcelandic at the University of
Manitoba. 204 / 474-8487 or 204 / 474-9551.
Lestraríélag (“Reading Society”), Kristine Kristofferson,
Tanya” — 7:00 p.m., Nordic House, 764 Erin St.
Solskin Annual Tea and Bazaar— 1 to 3:30 p.m., Hofn,
2020 Harrison Dr.
Icelandic Canadian Frón recognizes Independence Day.
— 6 p.m., Gather at Legislative Grounds, then back to
Nordic House for reception. (time subject to change)
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