Women of Waste Pro: Amanda Shabazz, Driver, Palm Coast, FL

PALM COAST, FL – Amanda Shabazz never expected how much she’d come to love driving a garbage truck.

“People always ask me how I deal with the heat and the rain in Florida, but this job has been working for me,” she said.

Amanda first joined Waste Pro in 2013 in the Southeast Florida region, then relocated to Jacksonville for a brief time before settling into Palm Coast earlier this year.

Big machines and vehicles were nothing new to Amanda. She had previously worked as a machine operator, chauffeur, and had already acquired her CDL license.

“I wanted something different, but I never wanted to do over-the-road trucking. It’s dangerous and I’d never get to see my family,” she said. “So, when I heard Waste Pro was hiring, it made sense. I could be with my family, get great benefits, and still make a decent dollar.”

Amanda has experience driving an automated side loader, a rear loader, and a Curotto. Her favorite, she says, is the Curotto because it’s easiest to maneuver.

“It’s easier to get around cul-de-sacs,” she said. “When I’m driving a Curotto, I usually finish my routes about an hour earlier than I would in other types of trucks.”

Over the years, Amanda has been welcomed by her customers – something she had never experienced at a job before. She prides herself in taking the time to get to know them, too.

“I love to help the older people who live alone,” she said. “I look at it as if they were my mom or dad – I say hello to them, push the can back up to their house, things like that.”

There are some, she says, who prefer to do it themselves – but the gesture doesn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s become personal,” she said. “It feels good to be appreciated.”

When Amanda isn’t behind the wheel, she enjoys spending time with her family doing outdoor activities like cycling, barbecuing, and fishing.

About Waste Pro USA

Waste Pro USA, Inc. is one of the country’s fastest-growing privately-owned waste collection, recycling, processing, and disposal companies, operating in ten southeastern states. Waste Pro, with revenues projected to exceed $1.1 billion in 2023, serves more than two million residential and 100,000 commercial customers from over 90 operating locations. Waste Pro is headquartered in Longwood, Florida, and maintains approximately 300 exclusive municipal contracts and franchises.