I’m asking from the perspective of a new driver.
It seems like there could be some benefits of a bin lorry job over a basic multi drop one such as not having to find places to unload and potentially finishing early when the route is done.
Has anyone done this sort of work?
Thanks
A bit RUBBISH I reckon,.I REFUSE to do it. 
Sorry 
I’m sat in Asda caff waiting for the Mrs to finish shopping,.and I’m bored ■■■■ less.
There’s a reason why there’s always been more drivers looking for class 2 refuse bulker work.Than having to drive a dustcart with loads of tail sweep, a few yards at a time, around tight residential streets littered with parked cars.With the job title and duties of refuse loader/driver adding insult to injury.
stevegregory96:
Has anyone done this sort of work?
Plenty. From the POV of a new driver here’s the good and bad of it:
Negative Points:
it’s a steep learning curve, lots of pressure from the loaders because “the other lad gets it in there no bother”.
Dealing with residents - some get really nasty because they can’t get past you, people generally disrespect bin wagon crews, even though without you they’d be living in a mess of filth of their own making, narrow roads often blocked with badly parked cars, some council estates are like Fort Apache The Bronx where even the police fear to tread, but you still have to go in there.
You’ll need to be as completely comfortable going in reverse as you are going forwards, not unusual to reverse for a couple of hundred metres several times a day.
Sudden lapses of concentration are punished much harder than motorway/dual carriageway driving.
But most of all it’s relentless, day-in-day-out, stop-start-stop-start, no chilling out and cruising down the motorway at 56mph to lighten your day.
Positive Points:
You’ll be up to snuff much faster than just doing bog standard pallet work, your skills will be top notch after you’ve negotiated a couple of weeks worth of back alleys with dog-leg entries/exits.
You’ll have company (good if you are a people person); if you get a good pair of loaders you’ll have good craic.
You’re home every night, no sleeping in lay-bys and getting your diesel robbed . You don’t need to worry about finding awkward drops, everything is a known quantity.
I would definitely recommend it for new drivers.
Zac_A:
stevegregory96:
Has anyone done this sort of work?Plenty. From the POV of a new driver here’s the good and bad of it:
Negative Points:
it’s a steep learning curve, lots of pressure from the loaders because “the other lad gets it in there no bother”.Dealing with residents - some get really nasty because they can’t get past you, people generally disrespect bin wagon crews, even though without you they’d be living in a mess of filth of their own making, narrow roads often blocked with badly parked cars, some council estates are like Fort Apache The Bronx where even the police fear to tread, but you still have to go in there.
You’ll need to be as completely comfortable going in reverse as you are going forwards, not unusual to reverse for a couple of hundred metres several times a day.
Sudden lapses of concentration are punished much harder than motorway/dual carriageway driving.
But most of all it’s relentless, day-in-day-out, stop-start-stop-start, no chilling out and cruising down the motorway at 56mph to lighten your day.
Positive Points:
You’ll be up to snuff much faster than just doing bog standard pallet work, your skills will be top notch after you’ve negotiated a couple of weeks worth of back alleys with dog-leg entries/exits.You’ll have company (good if you are a people person); if you get a good pair of loaders you’ll have good craic.
You’re home every night, no sleeping in lay-bys and getting your diesel robbed . You don’t need to worry about finding awkward drops, everything is a known quantity.
I would definitely recommend it for new drivers.
Thank you for this Zac. I’m just trying to avoid the basic multi drop class 2 work as I know I’d not like it an was looking for something else. Thanks again for the in depth response.
Zac has summed it up but i guess it depends on the company you work for all will be slightly different.
Our new drivers start as cover as all the rounds already have a regular driver and we already have cover for them if one leaves the current spare driver takes their place, as you start as cover and cannot learn every round (recycling and refuse) the loaders don’t get on your case as they know this so will cut you some slack.
Dont assume because its a driving job that is all it is our drivers are expected to help load when they can obviously if they are 3 crewed (driver + 2 loaders) they don’t do much loading but on 2 crew wagons they do get out a lot and to be honest its good to stretch your legs i find it boring sat in the cab all day it also brings finish time round a lot quicker.
If you don’t like wet weather don’t put in for the job waterproofs are provided but you sweat like a pig in them so you don’t win.
If you don’t like the smell of rotten rubbish and dog ■■■■ don’t put in for the job believe me the stink is nasty you kind of get used to it but every day you will get a bin that takes your breath away or covers you in bin juice.
Your pay will be no where near what you could get doing other work but as Zac said its Monday to Friday, job and knock and local work so if you are happy with what they are offering go for it.
Deleted duplicate post.
If easy work and early finishes is what you’re (generally) after you’ev picked the wrong field of work unless you get very lucky 
I’ve only done rubbish for like 4 days as agency cover driver and I hated every minute of it - hardly any driving, all stop-go-stop-go-stop-go-stop-go every house, every street/alley…ugh. If you’re new it will probably be twice as bad cause you’ll be a bit slow (you should be I’d say) reversing and squeezing past 2 shiny new range rovers parked on both sides of the curb and loaders will complain (verbally or non) unless they’re cool. Also dogs will hate you and will try to attack your truck tyres so you gotta watch out for them too. The smell isn’t so bad until you get to the tip where you have to also get out to drag any crap stuck to the inside of the bin which is mostly likely where you’ll be taking your daily break just outside the gates. My worst fear throughout was seeing one of my loaders get flattened by a speeding oblivious driver on those 40mph roads early morning rush hour. It’s also a very noisy job, by far the worst I’ve had
Well, is it household or business collections?
Household (used to be the council) will mean a five day route, well planned, usually a three crew, one driver, two loaders. Lots of interesting driving down narrow streets and a lot of stop start. Generally though, a 06:30 start and at latest a 15:30 finish.
Collections from businesses (which tend to be the Commercial waste Collectors, e.g. Veolia, Biffa, Suez) will be more chaotic, more driving between collections, a new customer might be on the route and unless you are (or the planner) is switched on then you might miss the collecion. Or you or the planner might not. (Rest assured, it won’t be the planners fault if you miss a collection). Usually it will be a 2 man crew, with another driver. So that when you run out of driving time you can load.
The there is always the possibility the planner will change the route on you as they have a new “fuel efficienct route” app that means you turn up at a campsite at 05:00 and you can’t get in. (Those at a campsite are usually on holiday and object to a bin wagon turning up at 05:00).
If it is a household collection job. Much less stress (IMO) although the stop-start may not be for some.
ETS:
If easy work and early finishes is what you’re (generally) after you’ev picked the wrong field of work unless you get very luckyI’ve only done rubbish for like 4 days as agency cover driver and I hated every minute of it - hardly any driving, all stop-go-stop-go-stop-go-stop-go every house, every street/alley…ugh. If you’re new it will probably be twice as bad cause you’ll be a bit slow (you should be I’d say) reversing and squeezing past 2 shiny new range rovers parked on both sides of the curb and loaders will complain (verbally or non) unless they’re cool. Also dogs will hate you and will try to attack your truck tyres so you gotta watch out for them too. The smell isn’t so bad until you get to the tip where you have to also get out to drag any crap stuck to the inside of the bin which is mostly likely where you’ll be taking your daily break just outside the gates. My worst fear throughout was seeing one of my loaders get flattened by a speeding oblivious driver on those 40mph roads early morning rush hour. It’s also a very noisy job, by far the worst I’ve had
The choice between driving waste bulkers v dustcarts is a no brainer.
I was a council driver but dustcarts were totally off my radar.
Luckily I worked for the County Council and I’d never have worked on that job and from memory there was strict demarcation between drivers and loaders then.
Best advice would be stay away from Borough work and look for County Council waste bulker work probably with one of the major private recycling transport contractors.AJ Bull and Drinkwater were dead mans shoes jobs to get on when I worked for the council.Even though I was doing the same job as part of our direct bulker transport operations.
Yep as Zac says you’ll end up a good driver with excellent understanding of your dimensions, also you’ll be able to finish work early and relax in the evenings, but early start. Much easier job in some places than others, probably a doddle in Milton Keynes but painful in places with older architecture and narrow streets.
It can be an eye-opener of a job for some people, and it’s quite good for those with an interest in psychology, as you can pass your tedious day pondering these important questions of our time:
How is it that the entire populations of some housing estates can wear pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns all day long? How do they find this to be acceptable attire when they’re swanning off to the the corner shop for yet more beer and ■■■■, when they’ve finally dragged their selves out of their pits at 2pm.
These are the ones who threaten to “complain to the council” when you drive down their street at 9am, hanging out of their windows screaming at you: “Don’t you know what time it is?!” Is it any wonder a lot of these people have never had a job in their lives?
Why do some people think that dirty nappies belong in the recycling bin? And why do they react so badly when you leave them a note to correct their error? There was one household who used to leave their glass recycling (beer bottles) still with beer in them but also stuffed full of cigarette ends. Stale beer infused with ■■■ ends is worse than the smell of general household rubbish. I used to write on the note “Sorry, We do not recycle ashtrays”.
It’s useful to have a set of strategies for dealing with problematic members of the public, like the ones who get abusive: "Please do not use abusive language to me Mr NJ62PRW " as you slide your phone out and take a picture of his registration plate, telling him “Our company requires us to record all acts of aggression towards the vehicle crew and you will be reported”. They soon tend to leave once you got their reg number, especially if you mention you’re just about to check their car’s MOT and VED status (www.gov.uk, the gift that keeps on giving)
Or maybe that’s just Hartlepool…
PS very few public toilets around these days so you’ll want to strike up a good rapport with all the betting shop staff in the area 
It’s useful to have a set of strategies for dealing with problematic members of the public, like the ones who get abusive: "Please do not use abusive language to me Mr NJ62PRW " as you slide your phone out and take a picture of his registration plate, telling him “Our company requires us to record all acts of aggression towards the vehicle crew and you will be reported”. They soon tend to leave once you got their reg number, especially if you mention you’re just about to check their car’s MOT and VED status (www.gov.uk, the gift that keeps on giving)
All our vehicles have 360 CCTV so if anyone gets the hump we point at the sign which tells the public they are being recorded and they usually wander off muttering under their breath, to be honest we don’t get much grief off the public and since covid started its been almost non existent.
Household (used to be the council) will mean a five day route, well planned, usually a three crew, one driver, two loaders. Lots of interesting driving down narrow streets and a lot of stop start. Generally though, a 06:30 start and at latest a 15:30 finish.
We officially work 07:00 to 15:00 but we finish when the round is finished which on garden collection weeks at the end of the year when not much is growing can mean a 13:00 finish and that’s without rushing.
Bin Man:
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All our vehicles have 360 CCTV so if anyone gets the hump we point at the sign which tells the public they are being recorded and they usually wander off muttering under their breath, to be honest we don’t get much grief off the public and since covid started its been almost non existent.
No such luxury when I was doing the job, it was a private company contracted to the council, run on a shoestring. So badly run in fact that they went bust within the past year, owing in excess of £10 million
Hi Zac a and bin man I had a woman trying to tell me that contents of nappies were technically food waste 
managed to keep a straight face 'til I drove past her 
cheers Ray
Despite being sat in a bar in the canaries drinking beer, I’m in the company of a Glasgow bin wagon driver…… what could possibly go wrong
As long as he doesn’t recognize you from Madame Trixies house of ill repute … no problem cheers Ray
peirre:
I’m in the company of a Glasgow bin wagon driver…… what could possibly go wrong
You’ll be fine as long as he didn’t offer to drive you back to the hotel…
Shouldn’t joke really, it’s almost seven years to the day (22/12/14) since that happened
I think its horses for courses. A friend of mine did it for a week on agency as they wanted a class 1 driver as it was rural so they did the recycling and general waste in one. he had a nice couple of lads with him that knew the routes and told him how to do it all and were prepaird to jump out all the time and see him back with out being asked.
however i went to work for a spanish firm on agency the whole building stunk to high heaven one of the guys on the induction had 4 mobiles that he kept having to answer and during the break at least 2 were smoking canabis and all the others were bragging about how much cocain and other substances they did. I was also told that as i would be in charge of them out on the road if anything happened i would be held liable for it. On top of all that i had to learn all aspects of the job as apparently half the time the loaders dont turn up and i would be expected to drive and load
As it would of been my first job since getting my licence i decided against it. Having said that i ended up with a job delivering chemicals to various places on a regular basis and at one of my drops saw someone that collected shreaded paper on a tuesday and speaking to him his job seemed simular ie regular drops and regular sites