Cultivating confidence

Debra West never thought she’d drive a waste collection vehicle full time, let alone earn her commercial driver’s license (CDL).

Hired as a part-time laborer at Casella Waste Systems, a Rutland, Vermont-based waste firm, in 2021, West says she knew little about vehicles before joining the company. A variety of careers peppered her resume, including pharmacy technician and deputy sheriff, but none was in the waste industry or involved operating large trucks. Despite her lack of experience, West’s supervisors had a plan for her from the outset.

“From the beginning of me showing up as a temp laborer, [my supervisor] said he saw something in me,” she says. “He knew that I had a clean driving record, and I was a good driver. So, once I was hired on, that was his goal for me—to become a driver.”

West quickly moved through the ranks at Casella, advancing from part time to full time in approximately two months before landing a non-CDL driving position operating a small waste collection truck. At first, she says, she doubted herself.

“I was worried about taking wide enough turns,” West says. “I don’t back my car up very well. … Backing up was a big concern for me.”

The first week in the truck, West’s manager drove with her and taught her the basics, like how to properly use her mirrors when reversing. Within a week, he cut her loose, and West was free to operate the non-CDL truck on her own.

Obtaining her CDL would be West’s next challenge.

To operate a large waste collection truck, a driver must have his or her CDL, which typically can be obtained only by attending a trucking school or CDL training program. Casella established its CDL Training School in 2020 to offer streamlined entry into the industry for future drivers.

West had to earn her commercial learner’s permit before entering the CDL program but failed the test twice.

“Things just weren’t making sense in my head,” she says of the permit courses. “I’m a hands-on type of person.”

West passed on her third try and traveled to Vermont to attend the two-week training program. The pieces she struggled with on the written test began to fit together.

“Once I got my permit and ... I was able to do hands-on stuff, a whole new world opened up for me,” she says.

Recruiting new drivers

The trucking workforce is aging. CDL drivers aren’t entering the industry at the rate needed to replace those retiring. In the waste industry, CDL drivers are crucial to daily operations. High demand and a lack of new talent have resulted in a driver shortage the industry is attempting to resolve.

Jeff Weld, director of communications at Casella, says the company’s CDL Training School was born from such challenges.

“Like a lot of companies out there, we were looking at ways to recruit more individuals [because] … applications were going down for those positions,” he says. “We were looking at ways to break down some barriers of entry.”

One of the barriers the company identified was cost. CDL programs can cost thousands of dollars, preventing some from investing. To combat this, Casella’s CDL Training School offers tuition reimbursement. If drivers complete the program and pledge to work at least one year with the company, their $5,000 fee will be waived.

West signed a two-year contract upon completing the program in 2022 and says she was “ecstatic” to have her CDL. Hindered by her lack of exposure and confidence, West had never imagined she would get her CDL and drive a collection vehicle—a stark contrast to the supervisor and driver she is today.

The CDL training opportunity is open to existing Casella employees and new hires brought on as driver apprentices. Weld says many established employees enter the CDL Training School as laborers working on the back of rear-load vehicles, while others come in as sorters or scale operators from transfer stations and recycling facilities.

He says Casella’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel Shelley Sayward obtained her CDL to better understand drivers’ daily responsibilities and the safety challenges they face. Other students are completely new to the company, hired as apprentices with the intention of obtaining CDLs and becoming drivers.

While students of any experience level can attend the school, Weld says Casella identifies criteria in its employees and new hires that could indicate their success as CDL drivers. Employees who show initiative and prioritize safety could be recommended for the program, just as West was when she started at Casella as a laborer.

At the training school, students learn the information necessary to pass the CDL driver’s test, including pretrip inspection, safety training, basic vehicle control and on-road driving.

Before starting the program, West’s biggest questions pertained to the parts of the truck inspected during the pretrip, the purpose of a fuel pump and how to operate an air brake. Now, she says she’s learned so much about waste trucks that she can identify the cause of an oil leak simply by where it’s coming from on the truck.

“I can’t do that with a car, but I can do that with a truck,” she says. “Learning the mechanics of the trucks intrigues me.”

For many at Casella, becoming a CDL driver is a point in the middle of their professional timeline, not the end.

“A lot of our frontline managers, division managers [and] maintenance managers got their start as a driver,” Weld says. “That’s one of our goals for this program, to identify people through it and get them on a career path, not just in the driver’s seat.”

Another goal for the program is to instill confidence in Casella employees. West says one of the reasons she never thought she’d be a CDL driver is because she lacked confidence in her ability to learn the material and adapt to driving a large truck. The CDL school helped build that confidence.

“These programs are designed to … get people to a place where they are confident, they are safe, and they are ready,” Weld says.

Exposure and confidence

As the driver shortage continues, more waste companies are turning to in-house training programs to recruit drivers. Longwood, Florida-based Waste Pro founded its Co-Heart CDL program in 2015, surpassing the 400 graduate mark in 2022, and participation in Cincinnati-based Rumpke’s CDL school is a full-time, paid position.

Casella’s CDL Training School has seen 200 students obtain their licenses, and West was lucky No. 100.

Today, she is an operations supervisor, responsible for supervising collection activities and overseeing drivers and helpers.

Although she can’t train non-CDL drivers until she’s had her CDL for two years, West already has taken on a mentorship role and says she can see herself becoming a trainer when she’s eligible.

“We have a couple of drivers who just got their CDLs, not through the school but on their own,” she says. “They don’t have the experience, so I’ve gone into the trucks with them and explained things to them and showed them what the trash truck can do.”

Trucking traditionally has been a male-dominated industry, and Weld says Casella’s program strives to open doors for people who aren’t typically seen in the driver’s seat. By increasing exposure and accessibility, companies could be able to recruit individuals who would not have previously considered trucking a viable career option.

“The industry and technology have advanced to a place where people of all different abilities, body types, sizes, ages and genders have the ability to do these jobs,” Weld says. “No matter your physical limitations or your abilities, you can succeed in these roles.”

When asked what she enjoys most about driving, West says she appreciates the level of autonomy driving provides.

“It’s freedom,” she says. “You just go at your own pace and get the job done.”

The author is Recycling Today Media Group’s digital editor and can be reached at tkazdin@gie.net.