Field Trip!!

For those who may not know, I have three daily Goals: 1. Do not drink alcohol. 2. Make someone laugh or smile. 3. Learn something new. I figure if I can complete these three things in a day, every thing else is just a bonus. In furtherance of goal number three and my own curiosity, I embarked upon an adventure to be a truck driver for a day. Well, ok, not really an actual driver, nor even navigator. Basically, I just sat in a super sweet chair and observed.

If I tried to convey my excitement for the day's activities you probably wouldn't believe it. But the best metaphor is, I was like a kid who couldn't sleep because tomorrow is Christmas. So after a few hours rest, I proceeded to the appointed meeting spot. I arrived at 4:40, precisely at the time I intended, as I would rather be twenty minutes early than five minutes late.  Besides you just never know, if the Universe has decided its your day to stand in line behind the old lady in the convenience store while she counts out change.


My friend and guide for the day, Bob, arrived precisely on time; 5 AM. I watched and asked questions pretty much after  saying "Good Morning Sir Bob, What's The Mix?"

Here is what I knew about truckers and trucking at the start of the day:
A. Trucks are big.

B. Truck drivers provide an essential service to industrialized societies by transporting finished goods and raw materials over land, typically to and from manufacturing plants, retail and distribution centers.

C. Trucking is hard work, with many hours.

My initial impressions of the vehicle during those early moments of the morning, were "Damn that truck is huge! and rolling with a tanker. After starting the vehicle and beginning the days paper work, Bob did an inspection of the vehicle. Once on the road, I learned of the cargo we would be transporting. Leachate. Leachate comes from the breakdown of various things in the trash and when it rains, water seeps through the landfills and is trapped by liners so it does not seep into ground water.The leachate drainage system is responsible for the collection and transport of the leachate collected inside the liner.  So we were headed to a Landfill. And trust me I was excited.

Road Warrior Style!

During the first half of the day, We made four trips between a land fill that is exclusively for construction debris and a near by water treatment plant. Bob had it down to a science, and answered all of my questions while we waited for 6000 gallons of leachate to fill the tanker.I found it  kind of odd standing next too a man made mound, that I knew contained rubble, wood and lumber, sheet rock, shingles and other assorted construction debris. There are various control boxes, valves, and pumps that dot the entire mound. I tried to get a picture but alas the camera on my phones sucks when facing into the sun. The other thing I noticed  was the Methane burner. Not a huge one, but still kicked out serious BTU's.

The waste treatment plant was a fun visit. It was at local  city's sewer and water facility. You may or may not recall that earlier this year, one of the courses I completed was an environmental studies class.  If you want to learn more. its not to hard to get a basic overview on wiki. The set up at the water treatment facility was of a sub surface flow constructed wetlands. Basically, after being screened for  floaty bits, the water is passed through artificial wetlands to screen out impurities.

Yeah, it smells a bit.

But not as bad as you think.

After 4 tankers at 6000 gallons each, the leachate tank at the landfill was nearly empty, or at least did not contain enough to make another full tanker-load. Bob called in to see if there was anything else on the docket for the day. Sure enough, a run to the East Central Solid Waste Commission Sanitary Landfill near Mora was still in the cards. This was much longer run than the short hops we had been doing. This landfill is a general waste facility, where your garbage goes once it leaves the curb. Once again the first thing I saw was huge man-made mounds, though these had roads built in, in addition to pumps, valves and what not.

 

The Trailer has a moving floor that slides the garbage out

One the way in Bob's truck was weighed in at 30,140 lbs. After loading 6000 gallons of dirty water it was 80680. After crunching some numbers, I estimate there was approximately 469 lbs of suspended material and contaminants in the water. Another way of thinking about it would be adding a  little under a Tablespoon of Dirt  to a bottle of water. (Assuming my calculations are correct)

This sites Leachate was stored in an above ground lagoon. It smelled alot like the Primary screening lagoon at the waste treatment facility.

Fence Added though i'm guessing no one is going for a swim.

After Filling up we drove to south St. Paul and delivered the lechate to the Metropolitan Council's Sewage Treatment Facility. Its hard to get an idea of how massive this facility is from a crappy cell phone pic but trust me, its big.

After this we made for home and missed the worst of rush hour traffic on 494.

It was a great day. Not only did I get to learn about trucking, I also added some practical experience to go with the academic knowledge I acquired earlier in the year regarding landfills and sewage treatment.

Conclusions drawn from  The Experience:

1. Seriously people WTF? Its a big vehicle coming down the road are you in that much of a hurry to die? On at least 6 occasions people in teeny tiny cars and suv's thought pulling out in front of a semi was a good thing. Bob was ever the pro, downshifting and employing brakes as necessary, but usually eliciting a grumble. And Who can blame him? I took high school physics, I know enough to confidently state that an 80,000 lbs vehicle traveling at 60mph has enough Kinetic Energy to turn most anything it hits into paste. Car Drivers appeared to be oblivious to this fact. Hell, even I have been from time to time. I would not suggest it.

2. Big Rigs have Blind spots! Yes I guess I knew this before, but actually riding in one gives you new appreciation for this fact.  And if its raining turn on your damn headlights! The trucker seeing you is your only defense if you insist on driving like a complete Jack Ass.

3. Truckers have thier own form of Office Politics.

4. Truckers do everything they can to ensure safety on the road, its those of us driving in the much smaller vehicles that make it difficult for them, NOT the other way around.  So you might be slowed down by a truck at a stop light or you might view being behind one as a general speed impediment, Tough. We need trucks and trucker drivers to keep our society going, Give them a break. And when you see one signaling for a lane change, THAT IS NOT A GOOD TIME TO TRY AND SPEED AHEAD OF THEM!

5. Everyone and I mean Everyone should visit a land fill. Hell we should make it a required school field trip for Juniors and Seniors. Its one thing to understand the concept or see a land fill on television or movies. But much like the difference between a photo of the Grand Canyon and the real thing there is a huge difference. Of course natures beauty is something we actively seek out for recreation. Witnessing what we are doing to nature may not be a pleasant experience but one that I think people can learn from. I know it has me thinking.

6. By the same token, a Visit to a water treatment facility is also a worth while learning experience, especially if they were to have tour guides.

I'd like to thank Bob for putting up with my incessant questions over the course of the day. Truly it was a great experience.

As I have been reviewing the day in my mind and writing this, I've also been thinking about history. No, not what we perceive as history, but how this era, this moment in time will be perceived generations from now.  What will they say about our garbage heaps buried in the earth? Will they find our era of waste and environmental destruction repugnant ? Will they be locked in the same cycle?  Will the planet have to be abandoned?  Regardless, there will still be truckers.


Mix