Republic Services ACX McNeilus Rear Loader on Manual Trash

Here's a truck I wasn't expecting to see at all when I visited the manual route during my 2024 Christmas break: an ex-Gardena CNG Autocar ACX McNeilus Rear Loader! I wanted to visit this route again since I assumed the driver who was doing it left the route, who used to work in La Habra Heights and did the manual route for the last few months of the La Habra Heights contract since he didn't have a Monday route. (Additionally, the manual route used to be done by the driver of a Tuesday-Friday Brea-Placentia recycle route, but that driver has since been given a different Monday route.) To my expectations, I found a different driver doing the manual route with a newer employee as the helper. The driver told me that this rear loader is the truck they are now using for the manual route. The Anaheim yard got at least 4 rear loaders from other yards, 2 from Gardena and 2 from Florida, to test them on bulk routes since many of the front loaders they use for bulk are old and not packing bulk as well as they used to. Along with that, they decided to put 1 of the rear loaders on this once-a-week manual route, which seems to be more beneficial than a front loader due to the lower lift height for bins than the carry can they would attach to whatever front loader the crew would take out, as well as the tipper, which can dump automated carts, whether ones residents have bought themselves, or Republic Services carts, which residents are increasingly getting in this condo complex, the 2nd of the 3 sections that comprise the manual route (the other 2 sections are private mobile home parks). The only downside is that the front loaders are larger, so they could fit the entire manual route into 1 load, while this rear loader requires 2 loads, adding an extra hour to the already long day of collecting manual trash. Thank you to the driver and his helper for letting me film this unique manual route that is likely 1 of the last in California and will surely be phased out sooner than later with SB1383! I hope you guys find this video!
Date: December 23, 2024
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[@VRoberts1117]

SLICK!!! What were the names of the drivers on your route today? What trucks did they drive, what streams?