FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Maisel
Director of Communications, City of Harrisburg
(717) 255-7295
[email protected]
April 26, 2023
HARRISBURG – There is a saying that goes something like, “The best man for a job is a woman.” In the City of Harrisburg, two employees have taken that mantra are running – or driving – with it.
Tisha Barilla and Paige Cammack are the city’s two-woman recycling collection crew. Every Wednesday and Thursday beginning at 4 a.m., they, along with recycling coordinator Jessica Caruso, maneuver their way throughout the city, picking up cardboard piles.
“These are two awesome women doing a really big job,” Caruso said of her two colleagues. “They’re driving a huge packing truck with a CDL (license), moving constantly in and out of the vehicle in all types of weather. It’s a hard job.”
The City of Harrisburg’s Department of Public Works, like many municipal Public Works departments, is staffed by a large majority of men. The amount of women doing labor work is even smaller. Yet, Paige and Tisha have taken a traditional stereotype and like the material they pick up, have thrown it away.
Harrisburg’s Public Works trains its employees in all fields of the department. Prior to cardboard duty, Tisha was a trash operator, worked on highway patrol, and did recycling bins focusing on bottles and cans.
“There are a lot of perks in doing this,” Tisha said. “You’re not feeling like your stuck. Nobody is hovering over your back. You’re out there enjoying yourself doing what you need to do.”
Recycling is the easiest way to keep trash disposal costs to a minimum, which is why every resident can have extra recycling bins at no extra charge. In addition to the curb-side single-stream collection for every household, it is important for each resident to recycle several products that cannot be included with the single-stream, like cardboard, empty plastic bottles and jugs, and empty aluminum and steel cans.
If you have more cardboard boxes than can fit easily into your recycling barrel, please break the boxes down and bundle them together with a piece of string. If it is raining on your collection day, please consider storing the cardboard until the next collection time. Please put pizza boxes in the trash.
More information on recycling and a schedule for your neighborhood can be found by downloading the Recycle Coach app on the App Store or Google Play.
