Garbage collectors both in the area and around the country say they endure backbreaking labor day after day as garbage cans grow larger.

The requirement most garbage companies enforce is for containers not to exceed a 32 to 34 gallon capacity. There are, however, a large percentage of those that push the envelope, using containers upward of 60 gallons in capacity, Municipal Manager for DeKalb Waste Management Thomas Kleczewski said.

“Anywhere from 30 to 34 gallons is reasonable for cans,” Kleczewski said. “But some individual decided to put out a 55 gallon container and when these things get heavier and taller, the ergonomics change.”

As a result, many garbage men suffer back strains from the lifting, at times having to lift 500 to 600 cans a day. Almost 50 percent of those cans exceeded the standard weight limit, Kleczewski said.

Frank McCoy, general manager for the BFI branch in Elgin, said it’s a dangerous process collectors go through when lifting heavier garbage cans.

“It’s the lifting by design that makes it difficult to get the containers in the air,” McCoy said. “Because of their size, workers can’t use their legs, but lower back to lift the containers.”

Possible consequences from worker injury primarily would center around the worker’s compensation collectors receive for their injures. With extra money having to be dispersed, residents eventually may see a raise in garbage fees, most notably garbage stickers, if this trend of using oversized garbage cans doesn’t diminish.

Kleczewski presented this issue to DeKalb’s City Council, stressing resident awareness of this problem.

“We wish companies would be notified not to sell these garbage cans to local residents,” Kleczewski said. “And we have succeeded in a number of communities in getting our message heard.”

Various efforts installed by waste companies include leaving a note on the oversized garbage cans and giving residents a grace period of a few weeks to switch to smaller cans. If residents fail to comply, in most cases, their garbage will not be picked up until they switch garbage cans.

“Our service to the customer is first and foremost,” said Tom Sundstrom, route manager for DeKalb Waste Management. “But we are also looking out for our employee’s best interests, as well.”

Sundstrom said one example of assisting local garbage collectors is with a newly negotiated plan with the city of Sycamore to provide residents with a 96-gallon cart that will minimize strain for both residents and garbage collectors.

“This is to help ban the 45 to 50 gallon cans,” Sundstrom said. “This two-wheel cart works in a way that allows the resident to wheel out their garbage to the curb, and then the garbage man is able to attach the cart to the truck and have it tip the garbage right into the back of the truck.”

While many residents may be unaware of these problems, Kleczewski’s goal is to have residents sympathize with the daily rigors these men endure five days a week, he said.

“This job wears on you. I know when I used to be a garbage collector that at the end of the week I was tired,” Kleczewski said. “These poor souls have to lift 600 heavy cans a day. Imagine if everyone had to do that.”