Municipal & Waste disposal
"A job with guaranteed excitement"
Nancy John is a woman who gets things done in orange. The 35-year-old mother of two, working as a refuse collector for the Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR), not only moves bins through the streets of the capital but also a multi-ton truck: the Mercedes‑Benz Econic 2630. A conversation about a traditionally male-dominated profession that often does not receive the respect it deserves.
Interview with Nancy John
Nancy John of the Berliner Stadtreinigung loves to drive the Econic.
Ms. John, you don't see a woman in refuse collection every day.
What made you decide to take on such back-breaking work, especially in the streets of a metropolis like Berlin?
I had already been out on the streets before that, working as a parcel delivery driver. Actually I'm a trained sales assistant, but I quickly realised that I wasn't cut out to stand behind a counter. Outside is my world. I came to the Berliner Stadtreinigung through my uncle, who works there. Women in refuse collection haven't been around that long. And even today there aren't that many, so you tend to attract attention when you're out there. At my depot I'm one of a total of seven women; my two colleagues out on the street are both men. In any case, back then I told myself, "come on, give it a try" – and then I passed straight away the first time. But that's not the norm.
Why?
Because it's not that easy to become a garbage collector. There is a fitness test beforehand that you have to pass. For example, you have to reach a certain step count on the cross-trainer or lift weights, but also complete various simulated obstacle courses, for example run up and down a flight of stairs, move bins of a certain weight, pull them across cobblestones, and so on. Everything is timed. And most people simply don't pass the test.
What does your everyday life as a doer in orange look like? When do you get up in the morning?
Official start of duty is at 5:30 a.m. Now our routes are in Berlin-Marienfelde, and our site is on Gradestraße in Neukölln. But I come from Hohenschönhausen, so it takes me at least half an hour by car, and on the way back it's usually twice as long because of the traffic. So I get up at 3:30 a.m.
Phew. And two hours later we're off on the road?
Not quite yet. First, at Gradestraße we get our route with the loads scheduled for that day and the keys that let us into the building entrances and the waste cages. At 5:45 a.m. we head to the vehicles. We can only start loading at 6:00 a.m., as it’s still quiet hours before that. When the last load has been dumped, we take the trucks to the parking spot, return our paperwork, and so on. If there have been any irregularities, we report them, for example blocked routes, overfilled containers, broken bins, or the like. And at 1:30 p.m. the shift is over.
A lot happens in between. Just to give a rough idea: how many house numbers do you and your colleagues visit per day?
We don't count by house numbers, but by pick-ups. A large black bin, the kind you know, counts as one pick-up, a smaller one as half. We do several rounds a day. When the truck is full, it goes to the waste-to-energy plant in Ruhleben near Spandau. Monday is my busiest day; we have three rounds with around 300 pick-ups. It's hard to say exactly, but it's certainly about 150 addresses on average. Fridays are more relaxed — we only have one run. We use the rest of the day, among other things, for vehicle care. We drive to the car wash in Neukölln and pressure-wash the packer body and stuff like that.
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The vehicles that you are cleaning there are Mercedes‑Benz Econic. And these workers in orange not only clean them, but also sit behind the wheel themselves, right?
Yes, exactly. I recently got my truck driving licence and have been driving myself ever since. At the moment I'm a reserve driver, so a deputy, so to speak, and I'm now also applying for the permanent position as a driver.
And what are your experiences with the Econic?
I love driving this thing through the streets. And people often do a double take when they see me, a woman, behind the wheel. In fact, this is the first truck I have ever driven, apart from the truck I had in driving school. That was also a Mercedes‑Benz vehicle, but it didn't have steerable axles like the ones on the garbage collection truck now.
"What I love most of all is when children's eyes accompany us at work."
Isn't that very difficult at first in the busy streets?
At first you naturally need practise, but a lot depends on how well you know your routes. A good team is worth its weight in gold — one that helps and can show you the ropes. I still rely on that today when I occasionally ride along on an unfamiliar route. Sometimes it feels like there's only a tissue between you and the next wall or the next car. With the Econic you sit as low as you would in a van, and that of course helps. City traffic is a real challenge, especially with the cyclists in Berlin.
One last question: What do you celebrate about your job?
My job is one that's guaranteed to be an experience: no two days on the streets of Berlin are the same, you meet different people and face new traffic situations you have to adapt to. There's also a lot of beauty out there, and the most wonderful thing for me is when children's eyes accompany us at work. They are truly the biggest fans of what we do. They often stand rooted to the spot and watch us until we drive off. And some parents even follow us with their children for two or three stops.
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