Five reasons to love your recycle driver this Valentine’s Day

It’s February and love is in the air! As you celebrate Valentine’s Day with family and friends, consider spreading the love to your local recycle driver as well. From friendly waves to helping keep neighborhoods safe and sustainable, WM’s recycle drivers are driven by love.

There’s a lot more than just recyclables in the shiny green truck. What’s to love about your recycle driver? Let’s count the ways:

1. Keeping our neighborhoods safe. WM employees are trained to look out for crime and

anything unusual while serving neighborhoods. The training is through Waste Watch, a safety program WM initiated two decades ago. When drivers see something unusual like smoke coming out of a building or a young child wandering alone, they report to law enforcement. It’s a community partnership that has saved lives and solved crimes nationwide.

2. Building community. Many WM drivers have served the same neighborhood for years and cherish the relationships they build with the local residents. WM drivers bring friendly waves, an occasional dog treat, and lots of love for green, healthy communities.

3. Partnering to recycle right. Your WM driver is your ally in making sure recyclable items get a second life. When drivers notice non-recyclable items in the recycle cart, such as food and liquid that contaminate clean paper, they offer timely feedback through a friendly Oops Tag.

Show your love by keeping recyclables empty, clean, and loose and only recycling items listed on your local guide at the WM website, wmnorthwest.com.

4. Bringing a smile to your child’s face. Many kids want to be recycle drivers when they grow up, just like their neighborhood drivers. Kids share a special bond with their drivers, exchanging waves on collection day and enjoying the ritual as the mechanical arm lifts carts and empties bottles, cans and paper into the truck.

5. Giving the gift of cleaner air. Not all Valentines are chocolates. Sometimes the best Valentine is cleaner air for healthy communities. That’s exactly what WM drivers deliver as they provide service in near-zero emission trucks powered by renewable natural gas. On Valentine’s Day and every day, it’s all about healthy, sustainable communities.

Karissa Miller is WM’s education and outreach manager. Find recycling and waste reduction tips

at wmnorthwest.com.