Dear Commissioner Mendoza and Deputy Commissioner White,

I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude and admiration for City of Atlanta Sanitation Supervisor, Robert Whitehead and the crew at the Waste Pro American Recycling facility in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Whitehead went above and beyond the call of duty yesterday, February 27, 2012 to help me find my keys in a truckload of recycling.

When heading out of my house to walk my dog in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, I inadvertently dropped my keys in our curbside recycling bin as I deposited a few more recyclable items in the bin. An hour later when I returned home I realized I didn’t have my keys. I retraced my steps but didn’t find the keys. I suddenly realized they may have dropped into the bin and the recycling truck had already picked up my recycling. My key chain had both of my house keys and three “smart” car keys which are quite expensive. I have four children in two separate schools in Atlanta and now had no way to pick them up. In addition, my husband was on a plane to LA at that moment for a business trip with all the extra keys.

I contacted the City of Atlanta and a very kind and considerate customer service representative connected me with Sanitation Supervisor, Robert Whitehead. Mr. Whitehead met me at my home and offered to do whatever he could to help me. He arranged for us to meet the recycling truck at the end of its route at the recycling plant. A dear friend drove me out to the facility where Mr. Whitehead was waiting for us. He remained with us until the truck arrived doing all that he could to expedite the process. Mr. Whitehead consulted with the Waste Pro USA team and they arranged to have the truck dump its contents in a separate warehouse bay. The truck arrived around 3:30pm and I have to admit I was in shock at the huge pile of recycling.

Mr. Whitehead and the Waste Pro USA crew of Brian McMichen, Brad Cannon and Justin were calm and professional. They thoughtfully determined the best way to tackle the mountain of recycling and then they began digging. They helped identify where my personal recycling items were in that huge pile by finding my address on magazines. As it got later and although I was praying the entire time, I began to think we would never find the keys. I felt terrible that these nice men were doing this for me. The men remained upbeat and committed. While searching, Mr. Whitehead got a call and had to leave to take care of other business. I thanked him profusely for all that he had done for me and, amazingly, he actually seemed reluctant to leave. He was so committed to helping me, I know he wanted to stay and find the keys.

I almost called off the search, but everyone kept working. We located another spot of items from my home. Two hours after we started, Justin bent down, then stood up and calmly said, “Here they are.” Needless to say, I was jumping up and down hysterically. When I commented that I had been about to give up because it was getting late, the Waste Pro USA crew said they had already been discussing what they would do the next day if we didn’t find the keys that evening. I was amazed that anyone would be so committed to helping me when faced with that daunting task.

Today, as I write this I am overcome with gratitude and awe that these men did what they did for me. These men were more than kind. They truly cared about my situation and they were positive and professional throughout the search. You are blessed to have a supervisor like Robert Whitehead working for you, and the city of Atlanta is fortunate to have Waste Pro USA American Recycling handling our recycling program.

Thank you for the service that you provide to the citizens of Atlanta.
Very sincerely,
Melanie Marburger