Recycling Crew To The Rescue
recovering sentimental cards & letters for bereaved widow.
This week the crew of a council recycling lorry were able to help a recently bereaved woman track down letters and cards of condolence that had been mistakenly thrown out.
The distraught woman telephoned the town hall's waste management team to explain that a friend had inadvertently put the letters and cards into a recycling sack, that was picked up that day.
The woman's 40-year-old husband died suddenly last week and she wanted to keep all the cards and letters to show her young children when they are older.
After receiving the distress call, staff contacted the recycling crew, diverted them to the waste transfer station in Smugggler's Way and asked them to try and find the right recycling bag.
They tipped all the contents of their recycling lorry onto the ground and sifted the contents of each sack until they found the cards – which were returned to the woman later that day.
Driver Lee McSweeney, who was in charge of the crew yesterday said:
"When we were told what had happened we were more than happy to help. The thought of having lost all those important letters must have been absolutely terrible.
"There were more than 1,000 sacks in the back of the wagon, so we knew that it might take us ages to find it but we were determined to look through each and every one until we found the right one. It took a while to find the right bag but all the boys were really chuffed that we managed to track it down and very pleased that we were able to help this poor woman after everything else she's been through."
The council's environment spokesman Cllr Malcolm Grimston paid tribute to the recycling crew, saying:
"This was a sterling piece of work in response to what was essentially an emergency situation. The crew can and should be very proud of what they did."
The council's refuse and recycling crews are all employed by waste company Biffa.
Related links
|