It's pitch black, wet and miserable outside as I get dressed into my bright orange overalls and heavy steel toe cap boots. Waking up at 4.30am was out of the ordinary for me, but for the Bristol Waste crew it's just a typical morning shift. Stepping foot in the depot, I'm adamant it's the worst weather possible to spend a day in the life as a recycle bin worker - but driver loader Simon Bohin, 42, tells me I've actually got lucky.
"At least it's not very windy. Emptying a box of plastic in gale force winds is almost impossible - and it's even worse in the summer when it's hot," he says. No matter the temperature, the crew has a duty to empty the city's bins, come rain or shine - or even when there's a pandemic in the air. "We were on the frontline during Covid and the public really appreciated it," loader Dave McKenna, 47, tells me proudly.
