Loader Danny Tummers happily does his route every day

It is a sunny spring day when Danny Tummers (25) is called for this interview. He finished nice and early today, the sound of a busy street can be heard in the background. ‘I’ll just park my scooter,’ he says cheerfully. Once he has found a quiet spot, he can’t wait to talk about the work he enjoys doing so much.

Danny works as a loader at RWM, the company that handles waste collection for the municipalities of Beek, Beekdaelen, Sittard-Geleen and Stein. He and his colleagues are responsible for collecting all the household waste containers, boxes of paper and bags of plastic on time. Something that might sometimes be taken for granted, but which these guys work hard to get done every day. Heavy work? Absolutely! But does that make it any less fun? Certainly not, because Danny happily does his route every day.

From iron to waste

Originally, Danny was ‘in iron’, working as a constructional fitter. That didn’t really suit him. ‘Dragging iron all day wasn’t something I really enjoyed. Besides, you spend all day inside, stuck in the corner where your welding machine is. It’s fair to say that I really felt locked up.’

A far cry from his current occupation. Instead, as a loader, he is outside all day, which really gives Danny a feeling of freedom. Besides, his employer has a simple job for him: do your route and collect all the rubbish. When you take a break or what time you finish is up to you and your team. ‘We get paid until 15.30. But if we buckle down, we often finish a bit earlier. And that, in turn, is a welcome bonus. You can do everything at your own pace. If we happen to be near a McDonald’s, we stop there for our lunch break. We are given all the freedom, as long as we do our job well.’

Behind the wheel

The age limit for loading dustcarts is 30. This is due to the P90 standard, which ensures that waste collection is done safely and the work is not too physically demanding. That would mean that Danny will have to leave RWM in five years, were it not for the fact that he is currently training to become a driver. Once he has completed the training, he can get behind the wheel himself. Is he looking forward to that? ‘Definitely, I can’t wait. Look, as a driver, you are the leader of the group. You keep the work going, but you also look after your loaders. I’ve always been taken good care of, I want to return the favour to my team.’

Rewarding work

Danny has been working for RWM for a while now, getting the job through AB Werkt. He still gets to talk to them every week when they visit his workplace. Then he and his colleagues get a chance to fine-tune practical matters, or just chat about how things are going. ‘It’s great that AB Werkt is there to help. They make sure that everyone ends up in the right job. We all work on a flexible basis: if someone performs poorly or is not doing their best, they are transferred. This ensures that our team consists of guys who know the ropes. That makes for much more relaxed work.’

Is it rewarding work, waste collection? Some people don’t always realise how important our work is. And they don’t really think about our safety when they put out their rubbish bags. Fortunately, there are also a lot of people who do appreciate our work. At RWM, people say to us: without you, everything here comes to a standstill. You ARE the company.’ And we are.