Covid 19 coronavirus: Essential rubbish collector cheered on during rubbish run

Northland Waste runner/driver Sonny Le Noel is receiving handwritten notes and waves of thanks for his work during the lockdown. Photo / Supplied

As most of the country is in lockdown we talk to some of the Northlanders who are working as our essential services — our essential heroes. They are out in our communities making sure we are connected and have access to supplies. Today Jenny Ling talks to a man making sure our rubbish is collected.

Handwritten notes on rubbish bags, less traffic on the roads and lots of waves and smiles - that's what rubbish collector Sonny Le Noel is loving about his job as an essential worker during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Kaitaia resident drives up to 200km a day around the Far North as part of his role for Northland Waste, the largest collector of household refuse in the Northland region.

He covers towns from Mangonui to Ahipara and Waitiki Landing and all around the Kaitaia township, stopping and starting his truck to throw in bag after bag of rubbish.

There have been a few more challenges during the first weeks of the lockdown, he said, not least because he became a first-time dad four and a half months ago.

"It's a bit scary," Le Noel said.

"Not so much for myself, but because I've got a wife and baby son at home. It's a little concerning if I bring something back to them, but I'm doing everything right to try and prevent that."

NeedToKnow3

This means using all the gear provided by his company, like masks, glasses, gloves and hand sanitiser, to prevent contracting the coronavirus.

The truck is fitted with an endless supply of water and soap and there's Janola spray to disinfect the bins.

"We've been given the gear and asked to always sanitise and be as clean as possible," he said.

"I'm thankful the company has stopped doing kerbside recycling, so we don't have to handle that.

"There are extra bags of rubbish now, because of that and because everyone is home more. But I'm lucky I'm working - a lot of people aren't."

While Whangārei District Council is continuing to provide recycling as an essential service to its residents, Far North and Kaipara councils are urging residents to stockpile items until after the lockdown finishes.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

This is to avoid contamination of the virus from recyclable items which have to be manually sorted.

All three councils have closed their transfer stations to the public during the lockdown.

Six of Northland Waste's 53 staff are rubbish collectors, called 'runner / drivers'.

The company provides waste collection services to commercial and household customers from Puhoi to Cape Reinga and holds contracts with Whangārei and Far North district councils.

Le Noel, who has been in his role for five years, said there has been way less traffic on the roads lately, and residents have shown a lot of support.

Some people have written messages of thanks on rubbish bags and people are always waving out.

"The majority of people have been awesome," he said.

"Today there was a young family on their deck waving and cheering me on. It was a bit weird but really nice. The public really appreciate it.

"At the beginning when people found out we're not accepting recycling, a handful of customers were not happy.

"But after I explained that it's for our safety, most understood and now everyone's pretty good."

Branch manager Darryn Shanks is filling in as a driver / runner to help with the increased workload and so his staff can have a day off.

He said his team were doing "a bloody good job".

"The volumes have just about gone back to those we have around Christmas because everyone's at home now. Most households that have two bags now have three or four. It's nearly doubled."