LFG

11 minutes ago, Lyndsey33 said:

Thank u. I was wondering what it looked like and was used for.

80% of our trash comes in on tipper trucks, we have two of them

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.

We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...

The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.

This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home

Crushed on the tipper? Man, that's awful...

Does anyone know if they have a tipper operator that works for the landfill, or if the drivers operate the tipper themselves? I'm trying to figure out a scenario where someone would be between the truck and the back of the tipper. That's a horrible accident that someone else probably has to live with

Been silently following this for months, and I've been a good boy, but I can't take it any more...

Hey Faith! Did you know Grandma is going to make you use cheap paper plates and spray perfume in your toilet water?

$695,000?

One week across the scales...

This is the time of year where we give our PowerPoint presentations to the big wheels, show them what changes we have made that are going to make us better the following year. I have an entire slide devoted to one topic. We were finally allowed to make drastic cuts in one specific area, and after only 8 months there is a noticeable difference in not only stability, but also a reduction in costs associated with the after effects of that material once it is placed in the landfill. 

These changes were not made just at my site, but were mandatory nationwide, with severe penalties for anyone violating the new policies. It will never be said out loud, but there is not a doubt in my mind that the ripples that caused these changes originated from a little mountain town in PA.

Thank you for making noise

9 hours ago, lavender said:

I lost my original avatar over that swap. I didn't have it backed up and had to go looking for it I never did find the original. 

 You didn't accidentally burn it with the tutu, did you? 

49 minutes ago, lavender said:

I could never decide if Oscar the Grouch or the Cookie Monster was my favorite. I leaned toward Oscar but the Cookie Monster had a dark side too. 

I think either of those is more appropriate than my original CAT avatar. Honorable mention, of course, goes to my brief time with your avatar. For those who really paid attention, Vader's daughter designed one especially for me that I sported for a short while

3 hours ago, lavender said:

Yeah, we've lost some of the better ones over the years. Either Steve bans them or they go away mad. 

One of my favorite experiences here was the avatar change, I lost a bet on a football game. It was so appropriate that I kept it. I miss Watoos 

1 hour ago, hipower said:

It would be hard to pay for entertainment like you found here.

Very true. And y'all got a new pet monkey

11 hours ago, steelnut said:

I'm sure that we all agree that you had the best of intentions and we appreciate the knowledge that you shared in helping us understand how this tragedy happened and how it could have been avoided. You are not to blame for anything at all, you've been a breath of fresh air with a great sense of humor that the vast majority of members appreciate. 

Thanks bass

10 hours ago, Dobby said:

I may be way behind on this topic, but where exactly is this located? Thx for the education.

 This is how I found this website. I heard about it the day it happened, and the only thing that came up on my Google search was a thread by mr.d.  The original thread got lost when the site changed the format 

 I came here with the best of intentions, I can only blame myself for everything that followed...

16 hours ago, steelnut said:

I'm so glad that safety has improved for you and others in the industry. And thank you for all of your insight into this tragedy from the very beginning.

Field hands have been screaming for years. As these landfills get older, taller, and heavier, we are beginning to pay for the sins of the past. Current regulations were passed in 89, which in the life of a landfill was not that long ago, but waste streams have changed drastically in that time. If you are in the field you can see what is happening, but it doesn't show up on a spreadsheet or earnings report. It's a shame that this had to happen to get upper levels to notice, but at least they have noticed, and in our case are making changes.

I'm taking half of a certain waste stream compared to last year. It's a budget killer to lose that revenue, and will cost me personally several thousand dollars this year, but next year I will move forward with a safer, more sustainable landfill. It was worth it

 The other landfill thread made me think about this one. There have been drastic, sweeping changes across the country in hundreds of landfills that I know of this year.  Millions of dollars in business has been turned away for the sake of safety.  Everyone in the industry knows what happened up there, and knows why it happened.  If any of Billy's friends or family are still reading this thread, just know that my job is now safer after the tragedy up there. This isn't how any of us wanted it to happen, but good has come of it, and will benefit thousands of people for years to come 

19 hours ago, Bon said:

My hubby text me this message on Thursday morning- "I fear foul play has met one of our ducks."

Patsy was gone!! She was untied, a few feathers on the ground, a very small cluster of feathers with some blood on it. 

I say someone stole her, my hubby says a fox or other animal got her. He thinks he was funny with the text he sent me, along with most people. I don't think he was funny at all. I like my ducks!!!

That's awful, I'm sorry Bon.

Few feathers indicates fox to me, quick snatch and grab....

Most other animals will leave more... just more. A fox runs off with the whole thing, they pounce so quickly that there isn't much of a struggle where feathers are lost and run off with everything

On 6/1/2018 at 9:01 PM, Bon said:

Thinking my ducks need grit. They are in grass all the time & I read it helps with their food digestion.

Aren't yours mostly free ranging? Grit is basically sand and small rocks, in the wild it can even be things like the shells of snails they consume. I'm all for giving fowl whatever they need to keep them healthy, but store bought grit isn't as necessary for ducks as it is chickens. Ducks have gizzards, instead of a crop like chickens, so they don't require the amounts of grit that chickens do.

Have you ever been on backyardchickens.com  ? That is hands down the best site on the internet for all things chicken or duck

9 hours ago, Bon said:

I still have the 2 duck eggs in the fridge. How long are the good for?

 I don't know about duck eggs, but chicken eggs can be good for a few months if they aren't washed 

A few of my egg customers come to me for the black copper eggs when no duck eggs are available. I've never used them myself, but everyone tells me they can't be beat for baking

13 hours ago, Bon said:

I found them!! A simple little ad & I'm going to go get them tomorrow!! 1 male & 2 females, 7-8 months old, already laying fertilized eggs (which I don't really care about).

Now to think of names!!! 😀

Already laying fertilized eggs? And we have proven Petee can hatch?

Sounds like a business opportunity to me

You don't want garbage trucks running routes in daytime traffic, either

 I don't guess there has been any news about this since the one year anniversary, but I wanted to fill you guys in on what is happening around the industry. Big changes nationwide this year, and the focus is beginning to shift from the landfills to the producers.  I have been on many conference calls, been in many meetings, talked to many drivers, and the most often repeated phrase is "that landfill up in Pennsylvania  "

 It may not be making much news up there, but it sent ripples across the entire country 

3 hours ago, Petee said:

Congratulations.  Have fun with the chickies and enjoy the fair.  Odds are you might be able to meet Justin Rhodes and some of the other YouTube people if you look.

 

I'm looking forward to it, there are a ton of speakers and displays

Hey Petee, the Mother Earth News Fair is coming to Asheville at the end of April. We got two day passes 

In chicken news, my barn looks like a hatchery now. Chick sales slow down after Easter, but demand for pullets goes through the roof. I'm hatching 4 dozen per week 4 weeks in a row just to get onough to grow out. I have a few friends that will take all the excess cockerels as soon as I can sex them, so it works out.

I'm growing out my first chicks from my young rooster, too. Can't wait to see how his grow out

On 3/12/2018 at 8:06 PM, Petee said:

Guess who!  Peek A Boo!

I'm sorry, forgot to check this thread for a while. All 4 boys perching and preening together? Do they get along that well? That's the difference in pen raising vs free ranging, they have the space to do their own thing. If I had 4 boys that close together it would be a bloody mess of feathers....

That's a great picture!