National Awards Highlight Garbage Truck Drivers that Go Above and Beyond in Their Communities
3rd Eye, part of Environmental Solutions Group (ESG), has announced the creation of two awards that recognize sanitation workers who go above and beyond to positively impact the lives of those in their communities.
Garbage truck drivers are oftentimes the first eyes on the scene of situations where a helping hand or immediate intervention can mean the difference between life and death. In other situations, drivers are the eyes and ears that extend an Amber Alert for a missing child or provide a helping hand to a citizen in need. The 3rd Eye Community Shield Award and 3rd Eye Hero Shield Award have been created to recognize sanitation workers who go above and beyond.
“Route drivers are in our communities every day – picking up refuse – but they’re also trained to pay close attention to their surroundings,” said Pat Carroll, President of Environmental Solutions Group. “So many times, it’s a driver or essential worker who notices a citizen in the midst of a medical emergency – or they are the first ones at the scene of an accident or crime - and are able to render assistance until help arrives.”
Carroll said these awards are broken down into two distinct categories, with each award recognizing the hauling-company employee for outstanding community involvement that impacts the lives of those around them.
“The 3rd Eye Hero Shield Award calls attention to an action that saved a life. The 3rd Eye Community Shield Award recognizes the efforts of an employee that goes above and beyond to positively impact the lives of those in their community. Both of these awards signifies exemplary behavior that we, both as a company – and as an industry - would like to call attention to,” said Carroll.
At 3rd Eye’s recent Virtual Users Group Conference, 3rd Eye was proud to present two Hero Shield Awards for activities that saved lives. The first award was presented to Waste Connections employee Waldo Fidele, who saved the life of a small child who was playing inside a garbage can when it was dumped into the hopper of an automated side loader. Fidele was watching the dump through his 3rd Eye hopper camera when he noticed the boy in the hopper and immediately hit his E-Stop button to shut off the truck, as he was trained to do. His quick actions saved that child’s life.
The second 3rd Eye Hero Shield Award was presented to Waste Connections employee Stacy Gillespie, who was out on his normal route and intervened when a dog attacked a small family. Gillespie immediately assessed the situation and placed himself in harm’s way to help the children into the safety of his cab. That split-second decision earned Gillespie the 3rd Eye Hero Shield.
In addition to the 3rd Eye awards, Waste Connections honored each employee with a $500 check for their actions.
“We all know that the job of a refuse hauler is a dangerous one on its own,” said Carroll. “Recognizing refuse workers for saving lives through community action needs to be commended – and we’re honored to do that.”
Carroll said 3rd Eye wants to hear from other fleets about workers who go above and beyond as these types of actions need to be recognized by the industry as a whole. “If you know of an employee who is actively involved in your community and goes above and beyond, visit the 3rd Eye Community Awards weblink at https://www.3rdeyecam.com/3rd-eye-shield-award/ and tell us their story.”