T he day begins early for town employees at the South Area Service Center in Gilbert, which houses the town’s garbage trucks, fueling and maintenance stations, a hazardous waste management facility and the offices of Gilbert Public Works Department.

The trucks roll out for their first shift at 5:30 a.m. with a three-person crew – the driver and two garbage collectors – to collect solid waste and recycled items.

But even before this crew makes its way to some parts of the town, there is another, less known crew member who makes it to the garbage first.

A trash inspector methodically sifts through the garbage and recyclables that residents have put out on the curb, logging issues and tacking notices on the bins for improperly discarded items.

“Even though they're approaching it from dif

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