In the spirit of celebrating our wonderful staff, we sat down with Waste Audit Technician, Erik Varner to learn more about him, and of course, share this with you! Keep reading for his answers to ‘5 Qs with Erik Varner.’

Mount Marcy
Q1. If you could describe a “day-in-the-life” of a MASS Waste Audit Technician in just three words, what would they be?
“Organics. Are. Everywhere”
When it comes to a day in the life of a Waste Audit Technician, you must be prepared to dig through plenty of food organics. Embrace the alone time you and those organics have together. You learn to become best friends with it. Your clothes and the organics will form a special bond that never really goes away. No seriously, the smell never goes away, just buy a new shirt and move on. And remember – every tonne of food-waste we send to landfill creates six metric tonnes of methane gas. The cause is bigger than ourselves. A good Waste Audit Technician never forgets this.
Q2. What has been the most rewarding moment of your work with MASS so far?
For me personally, the most rewarding experience is when you finish a long streak of audits and then finish all the reports. You get to take a deep breath and know with confidence that you did a good job, and have made a difference. Then, it all starts over the next day, but it’s always a new and refreshing experience.

Fredericton, NB Waterfront
Q3. What have you learned or how have you changed since working for MASS?
I’m sure this goes for all employees at MASS: Once you start working here, you really have to learn to recycle properly. If not, be prepared for a barrage of people running around the office asking “Who threw the pop can in the garbage?!” and then you sit in your cubicle quietly contemplating all your life’s mistakes. You learn quickly that there are no excuses for bad waste diversion.
Q4. What do you like best about working with our clients?
I love working face to face with people to whom recycling is a new concept. That’s the best part. You get to educate people on how to know better, and then do better. The world needs more people who aren’t afraid to ask questions and try to make a difference.

Lake Ontario
Q5. What is the one thing about you that may surprise your co-workers and / or clients to hear?
I’m sure all of our clients would be surprised to hear that we really do love going through their garbage. There really is so much to learn about a location based on what goes into the waste and recycling. It’s fascinating work, and allows us to gather valuable data that can really make a difference!
For more about Erik and the rest of our team, CLICK HERE!
MASS Environmental Services Inc. is a family owned and operated company built upon a value system of integrity and accountability. Our staff proudly exhibit these traits & make our company continually successful. Thank you to each of our team members for all that they do!