By Jamie Zimchek
It was Thursday, October 19, 2018, and rows of trash bags were stacked by many a curb across Panama City Beach. While the city’s citizens were incredibly grateful to emerge relatively unscathed from Hurricane Michael, curfews, boil water notices, overflowing trash cans, and power outages kept things a far cry from normal. Then, through the muggy air, came the welcome rumble of a Waste Pro truck. Full disclosure: there may have been cheering that took place, much to the bemusement of the driver and helpers working their way through the neighborhood in question. As the only company based on the beach, Waste Pro wasn’t just servicing their regular routes either – they also were picking up for other Panama City-based companies. “Following Hurricane Michael, we were asked to service every single container on the beach because no one could get in,” explains David Akins, Waste Pro Management’s division manager. Though he came on board in June of 2019, everyone still talks about Hurricane Michael. And the teams manning these Waste Pro trucks? “They were out there taking care of everybody while everyone else was at home taking care of their houses,” says Akins. “A lot of them lost their homes, but they still came to work.”
This dedication to the community is just one of the reasons the company has such a wide-spread presence in the area. The company as a whole just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and they’ve run a division here in Panama City Beach since 2008. Bay County’s division, Division 118, covers Bay County of course, but also runs service out to Port St. Joe and Sneads in the east, west over to Destin and Defuniak Springs and on across the I-10 & 20 corridor for a coverage area that takes in a total of about 5,000 squares miles. With three lines of business, Waste Pro can adeptly handle residential, commercial, and industrial trash. I’ve got about 65 employees working for me between here and our Marianna facility,” says Akins. “We run about 36 routes, and that goes over all lines of business, about 53 trucks altogether.” On September 1, Waste Pro also acquired Mr. Trash, and recently began servicing the new Margaritaville subdivisions. “We’re making some changes in our routes to adapt to that as well. We have more new containers on our way to use for customers,” says Akins.
As is to be expected with such local growth, Waste Pro is also looking to expand its team. “We have positions available for people to join us,” says Akins. “We are in a growth pattern, and we are one of the largest industrial haulers in the area.” To incentivize potential employees, there are safety bonuses but also the Co-Heart Program. “Co-Heart is fantastic,” Akins explains. “It’s something that we offer – we are licensed by the state of Florida and the United States Department of Transportation to sign off on individuals who qualify to get their CDL (Commercial Drivers License).” This gives qualified ‘helpers’, also known as ‘slingers’ who work the backs of the truck) the opportunity to get the necessary training to become drivers. And those safety bonuses? Waste Pro offers the exclusive earned $10k safety bonus and $5k safety bonus to helpers. They’re awarded every three years to outstanding employees who exhibit a great safety record. “I’m a safety manager at heart,” explains Akins. “It’s very important to me – I want my guys and gals to go home with all their “fingers and toes, bumpers and taillights, as they came to work.”
New to the area and need to sign up for trash service? Call the office to set up service with a service representative. You can pick up your can yourself or have it delivered. Sometimes there’s a fee that goes with a container for delivery, but in most cases they’ll have your trash receptacle to you in 3-5 days. And in case you’re wondering, yes, Waste Pro employees are the kind of people who will periodically run up and grab your trash can for you on one of those off-days when you forget trash day is, in fact, Thursday.
So to those hardworking drivers and helpers at Waste Pro who help keep our fine city streets looking sharp: thank you, we appreciate you!
