City of North Miami Beach Public Services Department - North Miami Beach, FL

Kelvin Baker, director of public services for the city of North Miami Beach, FL, believes the city's two new side loaders are part of their continuing effort to bring a positive image to the solid waste profession.

"We consider ourselves leaders and tend not to wait for someone else to do it … we like to get out there and lead the way," he says.

Although the truck has been in service for only a few months, Baker admits the residential collection vehicles are shaped awkwardly but actually are driver-friendly according to the drivers. "The design helps by appealing to folks as trucks pass by," he adds.

The city has an in-house graphic designer that helped develop the artwork to give the Kingsford, MI-based Lodal, Inc. trucks and Charlotte, NC- based Schafer Systems International Inc. containers a clean, earthy feel, with green grass, blue skies, puffy clouds, a rising sun and breezy palm trees. It's unusual "for solid waste haulers to promote positive messages on trucks like city's 'Leading the Way' message on its side loader," Baker admits. "Normally, garbage trucks are more of an eyesore than anything else."

But with each truck hauling trash to disposal sites, making about 900 stops per day, Baker says his city's eye-catching trucks are "a good marketing opportunity."