Dive Brief:
- A Miller Waste Systems employee was fired following an investigation by the company and Canada's Halton Region, which was triggered by a video taken of him shoveling snow into his garbage truck. The video was shot on a witness' cellphone and posted on Facebook.
- While Miller Waste Systems, which Halton has a $13 million a year contract with, had no comment following the investigation, Halton Commissioner of Public Works Jim Harnum told The Star it was clear the employee's motive was to weigh down the truck. Halton pays by the ton for waste removal.
- The investigation is ongoing to determine if there have been similar events in the past, though Harnum said while they are concerned about this serious offense, in many years of working with Miller there have been no known incidents like this before. There would likely have been red flags that something was amiss, at least if this was a regular worker scheme; it would have cost Halton another penny per ton of hauled waste. Miller Waste was not paid for the snow-filled loads hauled to the waste transfer station and may incur a fine.
Dive Insight:
When such suspicious activity occurs — even if it's only once — questions are bound to arise. Could the employee be after a bonus? Could he be working with the company to pad rates, and has it been an ongoing issue? When questionable worker ethics arise, potentially costing tax dollars, companies and municipalities typically don’t take it lightly, and usually spend on investigations and audits.
However, Harnum is satisfied the problem is solved and it can count on their hauler moving forward. "We have a really good relationship with Miller. They are a very open, honest contractor. We think this was just a rogue employee who took it upon himself to try to help the bottom line of this company," Harnum said to The Star.
