Brenda Mosser, Minot

There has been so many thanks out to all the first responders and we all sure do appreciate them at this time and always. They go the extra mile when they are needed and many times are taken for granted and brushed off because “that’s their job”.

There are so many professions that the “thanks” goes out to, that it’s impossible to list them all. Nurses, doctors, EMT’s, police, firefighters, social workers, clergy of all denominations and the list goes on and on who serves us, the public.

At this time, I would like to add one more profession that is taken for granted every day of the week: sanitation workers. As people have been able to work from home (thanks to their employers) and students doing their virtual learning from home, the trash that has accumulated has more than doubled. Yet, on schedule, the trash is picked up for you and at times, is not placed properly at curbside.

Yes, for the most part, households have totes but still many communities are still using regular trash cans and trash bags for pick up. This includes the city of Minot as well as outlying communities. Lids are left open and when it rains, water fills the trashcan which makes it very difficult to lift the can and empty it into the truck. Many times cardboard boxes are placed with trash inside out on the curb and when raining, what do you think happens to wet cardboard? Yes the bottom falls apart and the trash is laying on the ground, so now the sanitation worker has to pick up that trash and most times, not very pleasant.

How many of you have tried to lift a can 6 or more feet in the air and empty it when there is concrete hidden inside or anything that is extremely heavy? It is back breaking and dangerous. Please be more considerate when taking your trash to the curb and ask yourself, “am I able to lift and toss this”? If your answer is, “probably not”, please don’t expect someone else to be able to.

So the next trash pickup day for your household – think first! When you see them pick up your trash, give a wave of gratitude instead of calling the companies to complain about not understanding “why” your trash was not picked up.