Jenkins spends hours maneuvering her 25-foot-long truck through city streets.
SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): The city of Tampa’s first and only fully-automated solid waste truck driver is inspiring young girls to follow their dreams. It is not common to see a woman working in solid waste because it is an industry dominated by men. But Richele Jenkins is shattering that stereotype by working as a garbage truck driver in Tampa.
Jenkins is proud to work for Tampa Solid Waste. She has had her hands on the wheel in a man’s world for about 15-years and says she is used to the double-takes she gets driving her route. “The kids love me and I love them. The parents salute me,” Jenkins said. “I have a lot of females that ask, ‘Where can I get an application?’”
Jenkins spends hours maneuvering her 25-foot-long truck through city streets. It is estimated only about 8% of garbage truck drivers are women, a job that can be physically tough and dirty. “The smell for one is like, aah, but I love outside work,” said Jenkins. “I’m eager and motivated to be the first that whatever I do.” Jenkins has climbed poles as a utility worker, and driven double tractor-trailers. Clearly, she loves a challenge. “What made me want to do it? Because they said I couldn’t do it,” she recently told a group of young girls.
Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com
