Oct. 22--Throughout each game at Wrigley Field this season, bags and bins of garbage are hauled and hoisted out of the ballpark. Hand-carried by staffers or wheeled down the busy main concourse, the garbage eventually reaches the gate at the right field corner, where a powder blue trash truck awaits.
Bag after bag filled with hot dog wrappers, popcorn boxes and food waste is either tossed into the back of the Republic Services truck, or tipped into the compactor by a small lift attached to the rear of the truck.
For fans who sit anywhere near the right field corner, the sounds of baseball are accompanied by the repeated metal clangs of the loading process -- Bang! Bang! Bang! -- as the trash is emptied into the truck. When the weather was warmer, the smell of trash wafted into the stands, mixing with the smells of grilled onions and stale beer.
This "live load" operation is a byproduct of the ballpark renovation, Republic says, because there is no place for the 315 cubic yards of garbage -- at least three truckloads -- an amount that increased by 60 percent in the playoffs, to be stored inside Wrigley during games.
"This is the best solution Republic and the Cubs could come up with for this year," said Republic spokeswoman Jennifer Eldridge. "There's only so much we can do in that space. It's in the middle of a busy city, next to the ballpark. We're doing the best we can to be respectful to the fans during the game."
The raucous playoff crowds during the past few weeks have often masked the continuous busy, banging operation a few feet beyond the grandstand. But fans still crane their necks to locate the sound during quieter moments.
Republic anticipates the system will change next season. But for 2015, the Republic truck is parked on the brick pavers next to the Sheffield Avenue sidewalk, next to the end of the right field bleachers. The first truck needs to arrive at Wrigley by 7 a.m. to handle pregame waste as facilities and concession crews ready for fans, said operations hauling manager Ryan Dooley, who oversees the Wrigley Field operation.
When a truck is full, it trundles down Sheffield, headed for one of Republic's transfer stations in the city, usually the location on Cermak Road, Dooley said. The main challenge of the work-intensive operation, he said, is staffing, since U.S. Department of Transportation regulations limit driver shifts to 12 hours.
An assignment at Wrigley is generally coveted. Even though the garbage men cannot see any of the action in the field from behind the right field wall, they can hear the roars of the crowd and are still in the middle of the game-day excitement.
"We have a lot of Cubs fans on our staff, so they just like the energy around the ballpark," Dooley said.
Republic's Chicago division has had a contract with the Cubs for more than 20 years. The Chicago division also handles services at Soldier Field and at many of the city's special events, in addition to contracts with other venues for professional and NCAA teams.
Ballpark crews continue to gather ballpark garbage for 21/2 hours after the game ends, loading the last truck of the night long after the crowd has headed home or into neighborhood bars.
On Tuesday night, after the Mets took a 3-0 NLCS lead, New York players Daniel Murphy and David Wright made their way from the visitors' clubhouse through the Wrigley concourse, past still-busy facilities workers stacking beer kegs and hauling more garbage out of the gate. The buses of Cubs' opponents, it turns out, are parked right next to the belching blue garbage truck.
poconnell@tribpub.com
