The Business of Trash

A very unappreciated but crucial part of the Roundup and Musselshell County community is the city sanitation service and dump. Over the past few weeks, the city dump truck has not been working properly. We have come to realize how much the service that we take for granted is such an important part of our lifestyle.

The city employs two people, Nick Tomassi, and Lorenze Alt, to pick up the city trash each week. The Dump truck has been waiting on repairs, but Mayor Jones states that the truck should be ready within a week or two. They are hoping to upgrade the truck in the future. With the truck not working properly, the two employees have had to empty each trash bin by hand, sometimes digging the trash out of the bottom. Not a pleasant job. Some of the other city employees have been helping with the overwhelming task.

The Roundup Dump employs one full time employee for the dump refuge, Mike Deans, and another employee who fills in for him. There is another employee, Dan Labbs, with Republic, the business that transports the trash to Billings. There is a dumpster for metal, one for furniture, one for cardboard, one for recycle, (paper and plastic), and regular trash. The dump is open Monday through Saturday. "It is busy every day that it is open, all year long!", according to Floyd Fisher, who oversees the dump. The dump services are paid through local taxes. It has been in service since sometime in the 1960's. It moved from the Golf Course area in the 1980s to where it is now.

Waste is a part of everyone's life, and we don't often consider what we would do without a place for all of it to go. If you aren't fortunate enough to live where there is a service, waste has to be burned, buried, and composted. When you live in a more populated area, burning creates air pollution, and with the often-dry summers, it is not an option due to the fire hazard.

These garbage men greet us with a friendly hello, and often help us ladies to unload our bags. Through the cold, heat, and stench, the garbage men take away our baggage and make it disappear from our load of problems. When you are thinking of someone who makes your life better during the holiday season, don't forget the Garbage men.