“I’m happy being a driver. My plan is to eventually work my way into the office and drive when they need me to."
“I’m happy being a driver. My plan is to eventually work my way into the office and drive when they need me to."
From the cabin of her 14-tonne vehicle, Chelsea Carney is blazing a trail for women in the waste management industry as a garbage truck driver.
A rarity in a male-dominated industry, this female ‘garbo’ has received a positive response on the street since she took the wheel in May.
“If residents see me, sometimes they ask if they can take a photo. One said: ‘Yes girl, I am so happy to see you here’,” she says at the end of another long day guiding the $400,000 vehicle around the narrow streets of eastern Sydney.
Chelsea, 25, is one of five women working at the Hillsdale depot in Sydney but the only driver among them, with three others are working as runners, emptying bins into the trucks.
Pictured: Chelsea standing beside her daily ride
They have been recruited as Cleanaway continues to pursue its goals of increasing the diversity of its workforce, pursuing gender equality and empowering women and girls.
The number of women in operational roles increased by 49 in FY21, and remains at about six percent of the total workforce of more than 6,500.
She joined Cleanaway in late 2019 as a runner after learning about opportunities from her brother Beau, who also worked for the company as a driver at the time.
“I found out they were hiring. I applied as a loader. I thought that if you can drive a car, you can drive a truck, so I got my HR (heavy rigid licence),” Chelsea says.
She had been working in a variety of roles in the retail and auto industry before applying to join Cleanaway.
“I wanted a change in my career. My first thought was: ‘Am I able to do this job? Do I have the strength to be a garbo? After my first day, I thought: ‘This is not as hard as I thought it would be.’ The hardest part was trying to wake up at 3.30am. And trying to learn new areas. Every day was different, which was good,” she says.
“I’m happy being a driver. My plan is to eventually work my way into the office and drive when they need me to. It’s really been challenging, especially when it comes to tight lanes and you have cars parked on either side (of the road). It’s just a matter of asking the loaders to guide me.”
The support from colleagues at the Hillsdale depot has been gratifying.
“They always cheer me on. I have worked with a lot of men from the yard. They have gone back to the office and said I’m a really good driver. They have always said amazing things about me,” Chelsea says.
Obtaining her HR licence in March 2021 was a highlight of her time at Cleanaway so far.
“I was over the moon. I called my family and my partner. I was so eager to get out on the street. I just wanted to be a driver. On the Monday I said: ‘Can I start work today?’ The following Monday I started driving.”
“It’s good knowing I’m a girl working in a male (dominated) industry. It makes me feel content.”
Contact us to learn more about a career with Cleanaway.