Our People Archives | Page 4 of 14

Meet multi-talented Driver Con Wilson from Warrnambool

Our People

January 11, 2022

Highlights

“I’m very handy with a needle! I took sewing classes when I was younger and worked in a haberdashery. You can count on me to whip up a pair of curtains on demand,”

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

“I’m very handy with a needle! I took sewing classes when I was younger and worked in a haberdashery. You can count on me to whip up a pair of curtains on demand,”

There are many colourful personalities at Cleanaway Warrnambool – and then there’s Con Wilson. This front lift driver has a surprising number of skills under his belt, some of which may come as a total surprise to those who don’t know him.

“I’m very handy with a needle! I took sewing classes when I was younger and worked in a haberdashery. You can count on me to whip up a pair of curtains on demand,” he said.

Con has been proudly wearing the Cleanaway blue for 14 years, ever since he made the switch from the auto industry.

“I was working with a tyre company in Stawell for more than 20 years. When they closed, an opportunity came up with Cleanaway Warrnambool which was known as Statewide Recycling at the time. It was something different, so I decided to apply. 14 years on, I have gone through the transition to Cleanaway, and I’m still here and loving every day!”

Looking at the bright side of life is another thing Con is known for. His motto is “Live every day and be happy. Don’t worry about tomorrow” and this shows through his daily engagements with customers.

“Our customers make each day interesting and different. My approach is to always keep the customer in mind when on the job. I make sure I service them, listen to them, and try to help them out. Without our customers, we would not be here.”

Con’s hobbies are just as interesting as the man himself. One of his pastimes – much to the amusement of his colleagues – involves a rather confused animal.

“The office staff enjoy listening to my rooster if they call me when I’m at home – he doesn’t quite understand the times of day and crows all afternoon!”

Despite the constant crowing, this self-professed David Bowie fan leads a fairly quiet life when off-duty.

“My wife, family and my first grandson are number one in my life. My wife often says, “All you ever talk about is work!” While I love my work I also enjoy my weekends at home pottering around.”

With characters like Con, it’s no surprise that dull days are few and far in between at Cleanaway Warrnambool.

Safety milestone achieved for Cleanaway’s Innisfail depot

Our People

December 20, 2021

Tags: Health and Safety

Highlights

Cleanaway’s Innisfail depot in Queensland achieved the incredible milestone of 8,000 days recordable injury-free recently.

The milestone, which equates to almost 22 years without a medical treatment or lost time injury, was recognised with a presentation by Cleanaway General Manager Solid Waste Services Queensland, David Wheeley, to the depot’s Leading Hand, Doug Crocker.

The presentation was made in front of representatives of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council (CCRC), for which Cleanaway has been providing kerbside collection services since 2015.

CCRC has extended Cleanaway’s contract by two years.

“To have 8,000 days without injury is an exceptional achievement and reflects excellent local leadership and a genuine culture of safety at the depot, which has eight employees,” David said.

“As a regional depot with staff driving more than one million kilometers per year, this achievement also demonstrates that the safety management practices and procedures in place with Cleanaway and CCRC are working well to keep our staff safe.”

Pictured L-R: Adam Sadler (Director Delivery Services, CCRC), David Wheeley (General Manager Solid Waste Services Queensland, Cleanaway), Wayne Morris (Cleanaway), Jeff Delgado (Cleanaway), Doug Crocker (Leading Hand, Cleanaway Innisfail depot), Andrew Graffen (CEO, CCRC) and Gavin Hammond (Manager Regulatory Services, CCRC).

Building popularity with Sydney’s recyclers through great service

Communities - Our People

November 29, 2021

Highlights

“If you drive around, you are not seeing many cans on the street because they have become money. People go around picking them up. They tell us they can make $100 in a day."

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

“If you drive around, you are not seeing many cans on the street because they have become money. People go around picking them up. They tell us they can make $100 in a day."

As his truck with its distinctive blue livery approaches container deposit scheme (CDS) return points around Sydney, The (pronounced ‘Tee’) Luu is a welcome sight for customers wanting to recycle bottles, cans and cartons and get their 10 cent refunds through the Return and Earn scheme.

“They’re very happy to see us coming,” says the Cleanaway driver, who has been driving trucks for about 15 years after an earlier career working in roles at furniture and glass factories and a printer.

The joined Cleanaway after the NSW CDS was introduced in 2017 and since then has emptied reverse vending machines (RVMs) at about 160 locations across Sydney, working six days a week and driving up to 250 kilometres per day.

Born in Vietnam, he migrated to Australia when he was 17 and eventually identified truck driving as the job for him.

A customer wrote to Cleanaway recently to let us know what a great ambassador The is for Cleanaway and Return and Earn.

The customer was impressed that The took the time to explain that the RVMs were filling due to exceptional demand and later to advise that it had been emptied.

He wrote that it was ‘a great example of the culture you have clearly embedded in your teams.’

The modestly brushes off this accolade, saying: “It’s our job to deal with the public. We do what we have to do. I do my best but it’s nothing special.”

He works the afternoon and night shift, operating from the CDS metropolitan Sydney base at Cleanaway’s Blacktown branch to service machines that need emptying, as indicated by the electronic sensors in every RVM.

With a capacity of more than 50,000 containers, some RVMs need to be emptied up to six times a day, particularly since the closure and reopening of the scheme due to COVID-19 restrictions in NSW.

It is through this role that he has come to recognise people who regularly pick up containers off the street.

“If you drive around, you are not seeing many cans on the street because they have become money. People go around picking them up. They tell us they can make $100 in a day. It’s like a second job to them,” The says.

The opens machines to access the bins which are wheeled to the rear of his truck where an arm lifts and empties them before he returns them.

“We felt like we had been ‘hammered’ after they reopened in Sydney after being closed for seven to eight weeks, he says.

Despite it sometimes being that busy, The would not have it any other way because he loves his job.

He sometimes takes his two sons, aged nine and seven, to a local RVM on his day off to ‘show them what Daddy does’.

“I’m going to retire in this job. It’s very fulfilling, it pays well and the people are very nice,” The says.

Waste Warriors win 2021 SDG Challenge WA

Communities - Our People

November 15, 2021

Highlights

“The Community Cow Program demonstrated a systematic approach to tackling both plastic and food waste at a hyper local level. The team presented a well-thought-out concept and addressed the four areas of assessment which are innovation, inclusion, integration, and interrogation."

Tags: Education

Highlights

Waste Warriors comprising students Jo Scullin, Najwa Hass, Rohit Joshi and Aditya Sridhar took top honours in the 2021 SDG Challenge WA, which is open to students from all four Western Australian public universities.

The Students Doing Good Challenge, or SDG Challenge for short, is an annual event that advances the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a global framework for countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. This year’s event, hosted by Edith Cowan University, took place during September and October.

“Waste Warriors’ win is very exciting and unexpected! The quality and diversity of submissions was so impressive. We are honoured to be selected as winners,” says Jo who worked with her fellow Edith Cowan University students Najwa and Rohit as well as The University of Western Australia student Aditya on their winning Community Cow Program.

“As our team members are spread across Australia and India, we had to work to understand how each of our societies managed production and waste. The limitations that may be in one location may not be in another. On top of that we had to keep our pitch to five minutes! That was definitely one of the most challenging parts of the competition.”

Pictured: Waste Warriors team members Najwa Hass and Jo Scullin (third and fourth from left, respectively) with Cleanaway’s Candice Myers (far right), Curtin University’s Robyn Ouschan (second from left) and Murdoch University’s Leah Knapp (far left). The winning team and their mentors were invited to receive the award from The United Nations Association of Australia Western Australia division (UNAAWA) at the United Nations WA Gala Event on 22 October 2021.

The focus of the Waste Warriors’ pitch was on SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production. For this reason, the team was assigned Cleanaway’s Candice Myers as their industry mentor while Curtin University Senior Lecturer Robyn Ouschan served as academic mentor.

“I had the pleasure of mentoring Waste Warriors with Candice, who has shown considerable commitment to work with me to develop the SDG 12 problem statement. I sincerely thank Candice for her commitment to the SDG Challenge and have no doubt that her involvement had a major impact on the team’s success,” says Robyn, who helped streamline Waste Warriors’ idea for creating sustainable circular economies by shortening food and supply chains in local dairy industries. The team’s pitch also incorporated a glass bottle return and exchange program through their proposed Milk To Door (M2D) app.

Cleanaway has adopted SDG 12 as one of its seven priority SDGs:

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production
SDG 13: Climate Action
SDG 15: Life on Land

Since 2016, we have published sustainability reports annually. Our FY21 Sustainability Report elaborates how Our Cleanaway Way helps us create outcomes for our stakeholders and how these outcomes align to our chosen SDGs.

Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.

Determination to succeed drives Ebony-Rose

Our People

Highlights

"No matter what gender you are, strive for your dreams and goals. Be ambitious and make it happen.”

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

"No matter what gender you are, strive for your dreams and goals. Be ambitious and make it happen.”

Ebony-Rose Bielby has “always been a driven person”.

This admission is not meant to be a clever play on words, despite the fact she has just become one of Cleanaway’s youngest truck drivers at 21.

It also points to her achievements, which include excelling as a skateboarder when she was a teenager, and obtaining fitness training qualifications and a forklift ticket.

Pictured: Ebony-Rose in front of her truck

But obtaining her heavy rigid (HR) truck licence may be the icing on the career cake for Ebony-Rose, who joined Cleanaway in September 2020 in the Hobart branch of Cleanaway’s Liquids & Technical Services business.

“This is my favourite job so far. I reckon it’s the team I work with, more than anything. I do love the work. but having a great team to do the work I love is sensational,” Ebony-Rose says.

Hailing from Seymour in regional Victoria, she started riding a skateboard at 13, reaching a standard that attracted sponsorship and the opportunity to complete in the United States.

Unfortunately, a broken leg put paid to that competition and other injuries took their toll, but she has retained her links with the sport as a coach at skate parks in Hobart after moving to Tasmania in August 2019.

After joining Cleanaway, she worked in a warehouse, as a ‘co-ee’ (co-passenger) in a truck and a forklift operator before being encouraged to go for her HR licence.

This meant adjusting to a vehicle which is 12 metres long, more than four metres high and has a maximum load, when a forklift is attached, of 27 tonnes.

She passed with flying colours on Friday 5 November. A colleague in the same branch, Lucy Fenner, 21, has obtained her learners permit to drive a truck.

“A few years ago I would not have thought I would be a truck driver but my manager always encouraged us to take any opportunity we could to excel and achieve our goals,” she says.

“It’s gut-dropping the first time you do this. It took me a handful of times to relax.

“It’s not that different to a car, just more elongated, but you have to take your corners wider. You get a lot of cars cutting you off. You have to be cautious.”

She has received only positive feedback from colleagues, family and friends at news that she has become a truck driver, and paid tribute to Leading Hand Jared Andrew and former Hobart LTS Branch Manager Benjamin Mooney for their encouragement.

“I’m also looking forward to seeing what we can achieve with our new manager David Elliott,” Ebony-Rose says.

“It’s really great to have that support. It gives me a lot more confidence and motivation to achieve my goals and knowing I can rely on my family and friends to support me, means a lot. My mum raised me to pursue anything I wanted to do.”

As for advice for any other women looking to make this step into what has to date been a male-dominated industry, she says: “Just go for it. If you have an opportunity to it, back yourself. Just believe in yourself. It’s like anything, practice makes perfect. No matter what gender you are, strive for your dreams and goals. Be ambitious and make it happen.”

Are you in Victoria and looking for a career change? No experience required! We’re proud to announce Cleanaway’s Driver Academy for Women aimed at paving the way for women to be a part of the waste management industry. We’re seeking eight women to participate in an intensive 13 weeks of paid training to get your Heavy Rigid (HR) licence followed by ongoing learning for the next 12 months. Find out more and apply here

Love of the open road drives Hugh to all corners of Victoria

Our People

November 3, 2021

Highlights

"The hospitals are going through five to six times as much waste as before the coronavirus hit. It feels good helping out the hospitals especially when they’re getting overloaded."

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

"The hospitals are going through five to six times as much waste as before the coronavirus hit. It feels good helping out the hospitals especially when they’re getting overloaded."

Landscaper-turned-truck driver Hugh Turner has become a regular and welcome sight for busy hospital staff across regional Victoria.

At a time when COVID-19 has significantly increased volumes of clinical waste at hospitals, he travels across the state from Melbourne, collecting the waste for disposal from hospital staff.

“They always come out if they see me and say ‘hello’. Sometimes they bring me coffee or water. They’re really nice and ask me how my week has been,” says Hugh, 24, who joined Cleanaway two years ago.

Pictured: Cleanaway Daniels Driver Hugh Turner with his truck

Hugh is among more than 2,300 drivers employed by Cleanaway, delivering essential services to businesses and communities across Australia and helping make a sustainable future possible.

Cleanaway has been celebrating these drivers with a social media campaign branded ‘True Blue Legends’.

Hugh works long hours six days a week, sometimes covering 5,000 kilometres in a week as he criss-crosses the state as a relief driver, replacing or supplementing other drivers when they are sick or need support.

Sundays are for winding down by playing golf and fishing and occasionally following his beloved Carlton in the Australian Football League.

He starts work at the Dandenong base in Melbourne at 4am, completing paperwork, estimating how many bins he needs to load into the vehicle and planning his trips, which take him to all corners of the state and sometimes further.

He drivers as far afield as Mildura, Portland, Yarrawonga and Albury/Wodonga and sometimes into NSW to Albury, and even Broken Hill.

Hugh’s relief work on ‘country runs’ has become regular since the global pandemic took hold, producing excess waste which are beyond the capacity of the regular drivers to collect.

“Before I joined Cleanaway I worked as a landscaper, which was pretty boring, being in the same spot every day, whereas in this job I like going into work. It’s something different every day. Every day I go to a different country location. That’s the best part of the job. I love it,” he says.

“When I started two years ago, I was doing local city driving and then they gave me a couple of country runs. I discovered I love the open road. I see new towns every day. I see all over Victoria. It’s completely different to the city. One day I could be at the ocean and the next day in the mountains. There’s a lot more versatility to the job. You have to think on your feet.”

Hugh may stop for only 20 minutes at each hospital, parking in a bay before unloading empty bins ranging in size from 120 litres to 1,100 litres and leaving hospital staff to fill them before the bins and sharps containers are loaded on the truck for the next stop.

Planning is critical with full bins loaded at the rear of the truck and empty bins at the front for easy unloading.

“The hospitals are going through five to six times as much waste as before the coronavirus hit. It feels good helping out the hospitals especially when they’re getting overloaded. They always give me a ‘thank you’,” he says.

“Before the pandemic, I was doing 45 to 50 hours a week, and now it’s up to the 72 hours maximum that we can work each week. The long hours haven’t affected my enjoyment of it. I still love doing the job. I love getting out there and getting my hands dirty. I’m helping the company doing the extra hours but I’m also getting paid for it. It does take its toll and by Sunday I am pretty exhausted. But it’s still good fun.”

‘Mini-me’ surprises garbage truck driver Mick

Communities - Our People

October 13, 2021

Highlights

The first time I saw him dressed up I thought ‘Wow. How good is this? I just love to see the customers and the joy that going around emptying the bins brings to the kids.”

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

The first time I saw him dressed up I thought ‘Wow. How good is this? I just love to see the customers and the joy that going around emptying the bins brings to the kids.”

When Mick Skillicorn saw two-year-old Bodhi Bennett standing in front of his house, the Cleanaway driver thought he was looking at a miniature version of himself.

Pictured: Bodhi wearing a high visibility yellow and blue uniform and workboots and holding a cardboard garbage truck replica branded like Cleanaway as Mick emptied the Bennett family’s bin.

“It’s all very cute. The first time I saw him dressed up I thought ‘Wow. How good is this?” says Mick, a 22-year veteran of the waste industry including more than three years with Cleanaway.

“I have two boys. They’re grown up. I just love to see the customers and the joy that going around emptying the bins brings to the kids. I suppose it’s like Christmas every week to them.”

Bodhi’s mother Belle says her son makes a sign for a truck to alert her to the impending arrival of Mick’s truck in their street at Kariong on the NSW central coast late each Wednesday morning.

“He’s been obsessed with garbage trucks since he was 10 months old,” says Belle.

“He sits down and has his breakfast each morning with his garbage truck nearby. He will wait for hours until Mick arrives each Wednesday. When the truck is coming Bodhi puts on his uniform and waves.

“He even brings the bin by himself, after it’s been emptied. He’s a hands-on boy.”

Got a heap on. Can’t stand around and talk!

Our People

Highlights

“Graham is a treasure and upholds all the qualities we value at Grasshopper Environmental. He is a role model to us all. "

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

“Graham is a treasure and upholds all the qualities we value at Grasshopper Environmental. He is a role model to us all. "

Driver Graham Musset is the type of person that automatically lifts the mood when he enters the room and is quite likely to have you leaving it in stitches of laughter.

Graham was introduced to the Grasshopper Environmental team (part of the Cleanaway family) as a candidate by his son who was also a driver at the time. Graham brought with him many years of experience in the world of waste management, and along with it a healthy dose of “can-do” attitude.

Graham’s enthusiasm has not abated one bit in the more than two years he’s been with us; he genuinely loves his job and the team around him. While it’s possible that anyone can have a bad day, it seems that Graham is not just ‘anyone’ – we have yet to see him not smiling or laughing or making the team laugh!

Pictured: Ever up with the times, here’s Graham with a selfie taken during lockdown. Graham’s ability and willingness as a seasoned operator to take on new procedures and technology and adapt them to his role, has Grasshopper seeing him as a great example of evolving experience.

Our customers love Graham’s infectious personality too. By always thinking outside the box, Graham is also able to offer effective and safe solutions to customers – an ability highly regarded at Grasshopper.

“I got a heap on, can’t stand around and talk” is Graham’s mantra and catch phrase that truly exemplifies his work ethic and why he is at the very top of the list when it comes to productivity.

“Graham is a treasure and upholds all the qualities we value at Grasshopper Environmental. He is a role model to us all. I have utmost respect for Graham’s skill as an operator having worked with him and observed him over many years. It was an honour when he chose to join Grasshopper. What I love about Graham is his attention to safety and being able to set the benchmark for productivity at the same time.” said Branch Manager Ryan Noble.

“On behalf of the entire team, I would like to say a very big thank you to Graham and acknowledge his efforts and contributions to Grasshopper Environmental. As a seasoned operator, Graham has demonstrated the ability to adapt to change and evolve in line with the expectations and requirements of today’s operators, whilst keeping productivity and customer service benchmarks high. Graham is highly regarded amongst all who know him on a personal and professional level.” Regional Manager Gavin Stewart.

Cleanaway proud to support people with a disability

Our People - Partnerships

October 6, 2021

Highlights

“It doesn’t just make business sense, it’s the right thing to do.”

Tags: Diversity and inclusion

Highlights

“It doesn’t just make business sense, it’s the right thing to do.”

For more than three years, disability support organisation, Connecting2Australia (C2A), has been providing ground maintenance services to Cleanaway in Victoria including at former landfill sites at Clayton and Tullamarine in Melbourne, along with mowing and gardening at other locations.

“This has provided regular meaningful work for more than 20 people with a disability,” said C2A Chief Executive Officer, Keith Mortimer.

“C2A values the partnership, which created opportunities for Cleanaway and C2A’s participants. Our grounds maintenance services operate in a competitive market on a commercial basis and our work and quality compare with the best of them. With that, we are able to create many opportunities for people with a disability.

“The work enables independence, develops work skills and confidence and allows our team to be part of Cleanaway’s activities in promoting recycling and sustainability.”

C2A, a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme provider, has been supporting and empowering people with a disability since 1953 and is one of a number of social enterprises used by Cleanaway.

C2A has also previously provided services to Cleanaway in beverage containers and e-waste recycling.

Cleanaway’s Head of Procurement, Ezra Clough said Cleanaway was proud to support people with a disability through C2A.

“We tested the market before going to C2A and are pleased to see they are providing the value for money we are seeking,” he said.

“Both organisations share core beliefs and values, making the partnership a good fit and we remain committed to increasing the diversity of our supply chain by supporting other social enterprises like C2A.

“This is consistent with our sustainable development goals, including reduced inequalities and decent work and economic growth.

“It doesn’t just make business sense, it’s the right thing to do.”

Royce receives a birthday surprise he will never forget

Communities - Our People

September 21, 2021

Highlights

“He looked up and came running so I opened the gate and, as soon, as he saw the truck he was beside himself."

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

“He looked up and came running so I opened the gate and, as soon, as he saw the truck he was beside himself."

Five-year-old Royce Warren is obsessed with rubbish trucks.

So when Adrian Griffiths pulled up outside his house in a Cleanaway truck as Royce celebrated his birthday last Saturday (11 September), it was a dream come true for the boy, who is autistic.

Adrian was only too happy to take a few hours out of his day to visit the family home in Maryborough in Queensland after receiving a request from Royce’s mother Kelly.

“He was on the jumping castle in the back yard when he heard the sound of the rubbish truck in the street,” Kelly recalls.

“He looked up and came running so I opened the gate and, as soon, as he saw the truck he was beside himself.

“He grabbed our neighbour’s bin, which was the closest one he could find, and pulled it out to the kerb near where Adrian parked the truck.”

Adrian continues: “I pulled up, blew the horn a few times and all of kids came running out with their parents. They were having a look around at the truck. I let him sit in the seat and he thought he was driving it but I made sure it was done safely.”

Pictured: Adrian showing Royce his ride

Kelly says Royce was diagnosed with severe autism at the start of the year and is only now just starting to talk.

“More than a year he’s had a fascination with trucks and diggers. He’s up and waiting for the bin man when he comes each Tuesday,” she says.

“He’s never had a birthday party before and my partner said ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we could get a truck to come out to the house?

“We had to pry his fingers off the steering wheel to get him out of the truck.”

“We’re so grateful to Adrian and Cleanaway because you made a little boy very happy.”

Pictured: Adrian dressed up the front of his truck for the occasion

Adrian, who joined Cleanaway more than two years ago and has a three-year-old-son of his own, said he was happy to pay a visit to Royce’s birthday party on a day off.

He also handed out cardboard Cleanaway truck cut-outs and tiny blue wheelie bins as gifts to the birthday party guests, complementing the rubbish truck-themed cake prepared for the birthday.

“It made me feel really good,” Adrian says.

“What some of us take for granted, others think of as a luxury. If I can help somebody else, I will.”

Pictured: Royce having a close up look at the driver’s seat

Fraser Coast Branch Manager Scott Campbell paid tribute to Adrian as a “top bloke” who is willing to help others.

“He’s one of our model Cleanaway employees who lives up to all of our values including doing the right thing and making a difference,” Scott says.

Join us and be a part of the Cleanaway team making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.

Sustainable Categories: Our People

Meet multi-talented Driver Con Wilson from Warrnambool

Meet multi-talented Driver Con Wilson from Warrnambool

Safety milestone achieved for Cleanaway’s Innisfail depot

Safety milestone achieved for Cleanaway’s Innisfail depot

Building popularity with Sydney’s recyclers through great service

Building popularity with Sydney’s recyclers through great service

Waste Warriors win 2021 SDG Challenge WA

Waste Warriors win 2021 SDG Challenge

Determination to succeed drives Ebony-Rose

Determination to succeed drives Ebony-Rose

Love of the open road drives Hugh to all corners of Victoria

Love of the open road drives Hugh to all corners of Victoria

‘Mini-me’ surprises garbage truck driver Mick

'Mini-me’ surprises garbage truck driver Mick

Got a heap on. Can’t stand around and talk!

Got a heap on. Can’t stand around and talk!

Cleanaway proud to support people with a disability

Cleanaway proud to support people with a disability

Royce receives a birthday surprise he will never forget

Royce receives a birthday surprise he will never forget