Living the Life

Unsung Heroes

In society today, we take for granted that the task performed by trash collectors will go on, regardless of living in modern countries such as USA, Canada, UK, and Australia. These functions do go on as if in the background, and nobody takes any notice of them. Yet we find that these tasks are absolutely necessary for the good of modern society.

 When you travel abroad, one of the first things that you come across in countries which are not as far advanced as the UK, Australia, Canada, and the USA is how they deal with garbage refuse or rubbish.

Having now lived in Ecuador for three months, and producing a blog trying to tell you how things work down here, sometimes it’s hard to relate how things work because you become oblivious to that function. The function of garbage removal in Salinas, Ecuador, is handled very well.  It would appear that, on average, we have three pickups a week and one additional pickup for garden waste. There seems to be nothing that they won’t take away. In the Bay Area, San Francisco, California, should you put the wrong thing in the wrong container, they will not take it. In fact, they will give you a ticket warning you that you may lose your right to have your garbage hauled away.

So, the people that come around here three times a week to collect the trash are highly visible.  They are decent, hard-working people, and they work seven days a week, which you would not find in the US.

So for me to say that these people are heroes might seem a bit much; but I have seen firsthand what happens when the system falls apart. It seems like a very, very long time ago that I was involved with the British Army when we had the firemen’s strike, the miners’ strike, the garbage strike. Everybody was going on strike. The service that was missed the most was the garbage service.  These men and women  come along every day taking away what we don’t want to keep.  The next time you put something out in the garbage, think about the people that take it away and keep our streets clean.

crew and truck collecting trash

This is a common site

Above and below are 2 old trees with a great canopy about 75 to 100 years old

                      

Warning

I have a warning for any of you out there that have IMAC computers plugged into  the AC supply. It has been my experience that here in Ecuador, they do not ground the domestic supply, and instead rely on a negative ground.

This is not adequate and can lead to the metal frame of the IMAC computer to carry a charge.

The charge is non lethal. But for those of you that have a heart condition or a pacemaker,  this may be an issue.

This came to light when I had a power surge and the surge protector blew up. I have since installed a clean supply outlet for my computers. Hope this is of help.