Pou Liberasyon Imedya

Kontak medya: Ron Pecora
Ofisye anchèf maketing
407-937-2653
rpecora@wasteprousa.com

CLERMONT, FL – December 3, 2019 – If the love of the residents of Montverde, Florida is any indication, Larry Cooper is well on his way to receiving his first $10,000 Safety Award.

The Eustis, Florida native has been working in the trash industry for 20 years. He began his career with BFI and has gone on to earn his CDL. Since then, he’s driven garbage trucks in Georgia, New York, New Jersey, and now back to his hometown in Florida.

“I wanted a change in scenery, and there were better opportunities here,” Cooper said. “Everything here is awesome. The supervisors are awesome, the people I work with are awesome, we all get along like family.”

The son of an Army veteran, Cooper spent much of his youth assisting his father as a farmhand after his father was injured during the Korean War and could no longer work. Before and after school he would pick cherries, apples, pears and tomatoes – all with the goal to one day get behind the wheel of a garbage truck.

“I saw the trucks and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to drive one those one day,’” Cooper said.

Cooper joined Waste Pro in 2015 and was placed on a route in Montverde. Since then, he’s become a close friend to many people in the town – even going so far as to visit one woman who lives on his route in the hospital after she broke her hip.

“I took it upon myself to show her Waste Pro really cares,” Cooper said. “She was so glad to see me. It brought tears to my eyes.”

She wasn’t the only one – another woman Cooper calls Ms. Barbara fell in her driveway while bringing her can to the curb, so Cooper has since taken it upon himself to give her a hand.

“It broke my heart. I told her, ‘Ms. Barbara, don’t worry about that. I’ll come get your cans for you and I’ll bring them back to the house,’” Cooper said.

Cooper is also close friends with the mayor of Monteverde, with whom he frequently eats lunch.

A self-proclaimed ‘busy body,’ Cooper always shows up ready to work. He hasn’t taken a vacation day in 4 years, and only took two of the doctor-recommended four days off when diagnosed with pneumonia upon first starting at Waste Pro. He proudly proclaims to bend over backwards for his customers, because he sees them as family.

“Treat your customers as family and you’ll go a long way in this company,” Cooper said. “I want all of them to love me because I love them. I want to show them that Waste Pro really cares about them.”

The danger that comes with the job isn’t lost on Cooper. He said one of the biggest challenges is keeping an eye on everything around you while driving – other vehicles, pedestrians, the safety of his helper, and myriad other risks of driving. As an industry veteran, he’s adamant about teaching new, young drivers the do’s and don’ts of driving a garbage truck and guiding them on how to earn their CDL.

Cooper is hoping to earn his first $10,000 Safety Award next year. He’s committed to safety, keeping his truck in excellent condition, being dedicated to his job, and going the extra mile for the residents along his routes.

“I love my job, you can’t run me away. If I get too old to handle the garbage, I’ll just drive a curotto truck or something. I’m not going until they make me retire!” Cooper said with a laugh.

Cooper hopes to treat himself to a motorcycle when he earns his first $10,000 Safety Award. In the meantime, he spends his free time doing landscaping for his mother. He is also the proud father of four children who all want to follow his footsteps into the garbage business.

Konsènan 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 exceeding $700 million, serves more than two million residential and 40,000 commercial customers from over 75 operating locations. Waste Pro is headquartered in Longwood, Florida, and maintains more than 275 exclusive municipal contracts and franchises.