Years ago my stepfather teased his grandchildren when they were reluctant to apply enough effort to their homework, chores or grooming. “At this rate, kiddo, you’ll never amount to anything,” he’d joke. “Do you want to end up as a garbage man?”As time passed that line stopped being as funny. Mere “garbage men” became solid-waste professionals, their operations reflected both pride and new technologies, and a righteous cycle of improvement gained momentum. The image of that industry was transformed.It didn’t happen by accident. It didn’t happen because those outside the solid-waste industry suddenly became enlightened. It occurred because the solid-waste
