Back when Reason’s was still
operating, trash and garbage was always a tremendous issue. We found this out
whenever there was a mechanical problem or a pickup schedule went bad. If you
don’t know the difference, garbage smells. Trash doesn’t. Reason’s was very big
into recycling so cardboard was crushed down in the cardboard baler then
combined together on a pallet sized bale. The bales were then placed outside
and a service would come along once a month and pick up all the bales. You
never went more than two days without making a bale. During the summer, you
might make two a day.
Garbage was handled differently.
Produce scraps, out of date dairy, meat slops, old bakery, it was all put down
into the compactor. If you look at the diagram I provided, you can see it in
green. The slide down into the compactor is about a 30-degree angle. You toss
everything in and then hit a button. That button activates the ram that crams
everything into a receptacle that is the size of a 18-wheeler trailer. I was
never certain of the scheduling but some service would come along and switch
out the receptacles and haul out our trash.
The unit has been in place forever.
I cannot tell you how long it has been there. The metal plates that formed up
the slide were starting to show wear and rust. Yeah, there were holes in it. Or
I guess I should say gaps where the welds had popped. I never in million years
thought zoms would have the wherewithal to break through those metal plates,
climb up the slide angle and then force their way through the door.
Now, the door didn’t really have a
lock on the inside, so with enough fumbling, they could trigger the latch and
get inside. I guess the cold, the hunger, and maybe our scent(?) was too
irresistible. Unfortunately, for this oversight, Janet, Tommy, Becca, and
Ashlynn paid the price.
It was just in the absolute wrong
place. It was too far away from any entrance to be viewed from the security camera
feeds. And honestly, who would have thought to put a camera feed on the garbage
chute?
We keep the entrance to the compactor
barricaded now and we have repaired the damage done by the zoms in their break
in. It will be a mistake that we will not make again but I am frustrated that
it took four lives for us to learn this lesson.
To my four friends, I apologize…
