Safe to say garbage truck driver is best in the business

When Anthony Lucious performs well on the job, he gets a shiny new truck with his name on it.

Might sound like a sweet gig, until you realize Lucious collects trash for Republic Services. But even if you can't imagine hauling garbage for a living, Lucious can't picture himself doing anything else: He's worked for Republic and its predecessor companies for 22 years. He drives nearly 300 miles weekly, makes roughly 6,500 stops and handles about 60 tons of trash -- while maintaining a safe driving record.

That achievement helped Lucious win Driver of the Year honors in June from the Environmental Industry Association, the trade association for the waste industry. Lucious beat out 130,000 garbage truck drivers. On top of running his regular route, Lucious has served as a lead trainer for residential drivers at Republic.

Question: How did you get into garbage collection?

Answer: At Bonanza High School, one of my partners was already working here (at Republic), in a little summer job. I didn't really have a job, but I was just about to get hired at Flakey Jake's restaurant, and he told me to come down here, start working and make a little money. I was open to anything. I was really broke, and I needed money. It was either this, or I do some bad stuff and end up in jail. So I came down, and I've been here since.

Question: As a kid, were you interested when the garbage trucks would come by?

Answer: I really didn't get a chance to see them because my father was a construction worker, and he'd always take us with him when he left for work at four in the morning. By the time the drivers came around at six, we'd be already gone. We'd be framing houses with our dad. He was teaching us, his three boys and three girls, all the ropes.

Question: Why have you stuck with trash collection for so long? Why not try construction?

Answer: I thought about moving to another department in the company, but I really didn't know any other trucks. It would be so easy to get out there in the field and get into an accident with a new truck, so I stayed where I was. And construction jobs last just six months to a year. Unless the foreman took you with him on the next job, you were done. This job right here is recession-proof.

Question: Have you noticed changes in trash habits during the recession?

Answer: There's more trash. When people leave a house, especially in foreclosure, they put out more. They don't take all their stuff with them. They clean out the house and put it all on the curb.

Question: Have you ever had such a tough route or pickup job that you just wanted to hang it up?

Answer: I'm going to work every day and getting rewarded. My lights are on, there's food in the house, we have clothes. I think about the big picture rather than worrying about not wanting to get stuff off the street. I like my job. It's very important to me. By spending all this time at one job and retiring from here, my kids are looking at that. Once they see dad out there working hard to make sure our family is right, maybe they'll want to do the same thing.

Question: What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen someone toss?

Answer: Needles and propane tanks. People don't understand what that stuff could do to one of us or the truck. When you crush a propane tank, it acts like a grenade, with all these metal fragments flying around.

Question: Do you get frustrated with things people throw away?

Answer: You can tell what kind of person is in the house by their trash and the way they put it out. And the way you interact with a customer, you know exactly what kind of person they are from the start. It's been very interesting, because when I first started, I wasn't really good with communication. Now I know how to communicate with customers to the point where we can get along. I've been put on the same route with some customers for over 12 years, and we've built relationships from the garbage truck.

Question: Have you ever picked up something you saw in the garbage and kept it for yourself?

Answer: Once, a long time ago. I picked up a picture of Christian Okoye, a big Nigerian nightmare who was a running back with the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm a big Chiefs fan, because I like underdogs. I don't know where that picture is now. I have no idea if it was worth anything, but it had a signature on it, so it probably was.

Question: You just won a big honor for safe driving. How did you manage that?

Answer: You've just gotta pay attention to what you're doing. Always be aware of your surroundings and stay focused. In housing tracts where children are playing, you've always gotta be scared. I'm always scared when I'm at work, expecting the unexpected. When you start being confident, rolling out there and trying to drive fast to get out early, that's when you can have really bad accidents happen. I'm not in a race. The way I come to work is the way I want to leave.

Question: What was it like when they called your name for that award?

Answer: Oh man, I was shocked, because I know there are a lot of drivers in the United States who have a record like mine. I don't know what made me stand out any more than the rest. I'm just glad I won it, because now I can say I'm an elite driver. My kids are proud, because a lot of the people they know, a lot of my friends, are garbagemen. They'll tease or say something to my kids about their dad being Driver of the Year and they just smile and take it all in.

Question: You also coach Pop Warner football, and your sons now volunteer with Pop Warner as well. What attitudes apply to both your job and to coaching football?

Answer: When you go to work, you've gotta be like one family. There's no "I" in football. It's a team thing, just like work. We all go out together, and we all want to come back together. When one truck is broken down, we go help the driver so he won't be out there all day. When we make a tackle, we want everyone on the ball at the same time.