Behind the Scenes of the Dumpster Rental Business: A Day in the Life

 Getting The Day Started

The day starts early at a dumpster rental company, before the sun even comes up drivers arrive at the shop. They have their schedules filled out and routed for the day by the good people in the main office. The drivers double-check their equipment making sure all the fluids are topped off and their hydraulic systems are working properly. Then they pick up an empty dumpster to deliver to a customer or already have a full dumpster from the last run of the night. These full dumpsters will be taken to the landfill that opens at 7 AM. There is always a line at the landfill so our drivers are there early to line up. After unloading at the landfill they are off to deliver to our service area. Our main service area is within 45 miles of our shop. Whether, it is a straight pickup, a pickup, dump, and return, or a swap our drivers have their orders that they fill for their customers. 

 During the Day:

The drivers are out on the road and delivering dumpsters across our region. The people in the office are taking calls and new orders for tomorrow or in the future. Drivers are on site navigating the always interesting and challenging places where we are placing the dumpsters. Whether the dumpster is placed on a sloped driveway or in a field they need to navigate through, they work with the customer to find the most appropriate and safest place for the dumpster. Sometimes our drivers will arrive and the dumpster will be overfilled, blocked, or inaccessible in some of them. At this time the driver would call dispatch to alert them of the issue and dispatch would reach out to the customer to fix the problem. After the dumpster has been leveled or the obstruction, i.e. a car or truck, has been moved then the driver will be able to pick up the dumpster. At this point, the driver heads to the nearest landfill to unload and be prepared for his next assignment. This might be to take the newly unloaded dumpster to someone's home or maybe a construction site. Occasionally, they will bring the emptied dumpster back to where they just picked it up. This is called a pick up and return, in the business. Just like any business things come up during the day that change the flow and our drivers are there to assist. Every once in a while, there will be an issue with a truck, it might be a flat tire or a dumpster will get stuck on the rails of the roll-off truck. In this case, dispatch will be called and a driver close to the one needing assistance will pause what they are doing to help our other driver out. It's a team concept and our drivers do a great job with this!

At the End of the Day:

Around 3 to 3:30PM dispatch asses where all the drivers are in their routes to see if they will be able to do a pickup and make it to the landfill before it closes at 4PM. If they can make it then dispatch will tell them to head to the dump so they will have an empty dumpster ready for in the morning. If they cannot then the driver will be told that they need to head back to the shop and be ready for the landfill in the morning. So, after all the trials and tribulations of the day, the drivers make it back to the yard with an empty can or one ready to be dumped in the morning. All diesel is fueled and all DEF tanks are topped off for in the morning we start it all again.

One might think, sure, I will order a dumpster and it arrives and it is placed where they want it. But, like any job, there is a whole other world behind the scenes that takes place for that dumpster to make it to where you need it when you need it. A whole logistics team is in place routing our drivers in the quickest most efficient route to hit the maximum amount of customers in one day. It takes a team working together for a common goal of providing a service the customers are happy with in the end.