Jack,

I worked a temp assignment some years ago on a garbage route. Have you ever noticed how most of those collectors tend to really hustle about their work? There's a very good reason for that. Most of them get paid for an entire work day regardless of how quickly they run their routes. They can usually finish in less than four hours, so I'd guess your garbage guys will still be able to enjoy their 4th of July with the added pleasure of knowing that they racked up some pretty decent holday pay.

Also, trash collection is becoming increasingly mechanized, so one man and a hi-tech rig can do the work that used to require a crew of three men and a not-so-fancy truck. All that mechanization has pretty much made trash collection a no-touch job as well. I'm sure that the exact job varies with every municipality and company, but it's certainly not as lousy a job as it used to be. It's probably not bad at all once you get past the smell...lol.

Happy hunting,

aye'