Garbage / Recycling Truck Driver — On-the-job English
Study in your language — but on the job you'll speak English. These are the real phrases you actually say for this work, with a note in your language. Not a script; common situations workers report.
🔴 Emergency — backing accident or hopper fire
This is 911 — I have a fire in the hopper, truck is stopped at [street], everyone stay clear.
Call 911 for a compactor/hopper fire; give location and keep people away.
Someone's behind the truck — stop, stop, stop!
Shout an immediate stop when a person is behind the truck while backing.
This is 911 — a worker is struck by the truck at [street], he's conscious, send an ambulance.
Report a struck-by injury: location, consciousness, request an ambulance.
Talking with dispatch / route supervisor
Dispatch, I'm running about twenty minutes behind on Route 9 — heavy traffic.
Report running late on your route because of traffic.
The truck's hydraulics are acting up — I need a swap or a mechanic to look at it.
Report a mechanical problem and ask for a replacement truck or repair.
A resident asks about pickup
Sorry, we already came by this morning — pickup will be back next Tuesday.
Explain the truck already passed and give the next pickup day.
That item needs a bulky-item sticker — you can request one from the city, it's not on this route.
Explain bulky-item rules when an item can't be taken on the regular route.
Spotting a hazard on the route
Watch it — there's glass and sharp metal sticking out of that bag.
Warn a coworker about sharp debris in a bag before handling it.
Kids are playing near the bin — hold the arm until they're clear.
Pause the automated arm when children are near the container.