They used to say there were two certainties in life, death and taxes – they missed the third one, garbage. Every society produces it and every society has problems handling it. At the forefront of waste disposal and landfill are the bulldozers and bulldozer operators. We should be thankful they do such a good job too.

It has to be one of those things in life that we take too much for granted. It is so easy to sit in our homes, we cook, we eat, we accumulate garbage. What do we do, we take it out to the trash can each day and, on the right day, take the trash out ready to be emptied. From that point on, we don’t want to know.

I won’t go into all the processes. Suffice to say your rubbish ends up in a landfill site somewhere. Garbage trucks empty the often compacted waste on to the landfill pile. From there, bulldozers spend the day turning the garbage over, slowly mixing it, breaking it up, and then burying it all. The bulldozer itself acts a compactor, compacting the ground and previously garbage. And they do this all day, everyday.

Whilst it may sound like a mindless task, a bulldozer operator working on a landfill site cannot afford to be mindless. They must be alert, forever watching for dangerous objects, and objects that shouldn’t be there. At the same time they need to have a good knowledge of the process they are involved with. Landfill management is a very exacting science. Garbage can only be a certain thickness before requiring a coverage of soil. The area needs to rest for a while – this is why landfill sites are forever changing their dumping zones.

Training to be a bulldozer operator is not that difficult. Working as a bulldozer operator on a landfill site that involves domestic garbage is one that requires experience and patience – a well guarded nose also helps.

There is one thing in life we all have, don’t want, and get others to deal with. Our waste. We throw it into the bin which gets collected and from that point on, we don’t want to know about it.

The waste is taken to a central location where it is often used as landfill. Heavy equipment like large bulldozers push the waste around, mixing it with soil and slowly burying it. As time goes by the waste becomes compacted down.

Once the landfill area is full, fresh dirt is used to completely cover the site. Again it is the bulldozer that is called into action to bury all the waste.

It may not be everyone’s idea of the perfect job, but someone has to do it. Not only that, it actually takes a skilled operator to perform the landfill requirements properly. These operators are trained to use their equipment on a variety of surfaces and slopes. If you think about it, rubbish is soft, it cane compacted, your bulldozer is going to sink and slide around. You need good skills to handle that terrain.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can help you acquire all the skills needed to operate a bulldozer effectively. Check out our training site for more information on course start dates.