Waste Industry Museum
How has the garbage truck changed over time?
Collecting and transporting garbage is a huge and important job in any city, and ongoing advancements in technology help ensure it’s done efficiently and effectively.
Description
[Abby Brown] What's something that we create every day? But we don't talk much about garbage. And guess what? In Iowa, there's one of the only museums in the world dedicated to the important job of keeping our country clean.
(Map marking Fayette County in northeastern Iowa.)
It makes its way through our neighborhoods every week. The garbage truck, a modern day marvel with a robotic arm and a skilled driver.
But collecting waste wasn't always as convenient as a truck just showing up to take it away.
The first garbage collectors in the United States weren't trucks. They were people. Those people figured out that horses and wagons could really help. Later on, with the invention of the automobile, dump trucks and garbage trucks took the reins.
The Waste Industry Historical Society has a museum in Oelwein, Iowa. One of the items on display here is a real garbage truck. This one is over 40 years old.
(A red truck with a white, garbage hopper.)
There was no robotic arm used back then.
Instead, for most neighborhood collections, workers rode on the back, hopped off, picked up the garbage cans and bags, dumped them into the back of the truck, and jumped back on and headed to the next stop.
Inside the museum, there's a room full of collectibles related to the garbage industry.
Diecast metal garbage truck models line the walls.
There are even street sweeper replicas.
Toy garbage cans and recycling bins are showcased too.
And don't forget the uniforms and hats.
A different room is packed full of history with memorabilia from local and nationwide waste companies.
There's even a knockoff of an old friend of ours, Oscar the Grouch. We all know he loves garbage.
The man who started this museum, Anthony Ricchio, has worked in sanitation for over 40 years.
Much of the collection on display here is his, all the way back to the first garbage truck toy he received when he was eight years old.
At that time, his dad was a garbage man too.
The Waste Industry Museum is housed inside the Hub City Railway Museum, which is pretty cool because visitors can also stop and learn about railroad history.
It's a building packed full of stories from the past and how they've affected our societies today.
Every county in Iowa is littered with history. It definitely won't be a waste of your time when you visit this museum in Fayette County.
Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.