#OurDave

#WeAreDave, the phrase that has come to represent everyone in our NFDC family, started with a photo showing one of our people cheerfully giving his all to keep going and serve the community through challenging times. That person was #OurDave, a waste and recycling supervisor.

Dave started out on the ground working in the waste crews 17 years ago. After a time away, working at Test Valley, Dave has been back at NFDC for the last 5 years.  He describes his job as 'helping to keep the streets clean and tidy in the New Forest'. He explained, "If our crews didn't do our job there'd be lots of dissatisfied members of the public, lots more mess, more animals and pests attacking rubbish."

As a supervisor, Dave loves to organise things - organising the Totton yard, the crews and rounds, sorting missed collections and arranging deliveries. He gets great satisfaction from checking things off his list as done.

We asked what people may be surprised to learn about the job of the waste crews. "You'd be surprised how much we get to work with the public, we have lots of interaction and people talking to us, from a 2m distance these days. You really get to know the people on your round, especially the older residents we help with assisted collections, and the children - kids love us.

So what are the best things about working as one of the waste crew? Dave thinks it's all about being out and about, especially on the more scenic routes around the New Forest. "Being out in the country, driving up and down little tracks to farms and seeing all the animals is uplifting. We're lucky that the New Forest has so much variety, seeing different areas of the New Forest makes the job much more interesting." 

Dave's favourite parts of the district are Lepe and Beaulieu, because they're nice and quiet. Given a few minutes of free time, Dave would love nothing more than some quiet chill out time - sitting in an open field, eating sandwiches. Sounds good to us.

Thanks Dave and the crews. Keep up the great work.