Melvin Wright, crane operator, is a new DC Water employee, but no stranger to the system. His many stints as a contractor working at Blue Plains date back to 2006, followed by a stint as equipment operator at a waste-to-energy plant in Lorton, before returning to Blue Plains in his new capacity with the greater Bloom team.
“What I love about this job is being part of the last step in the system. The average person doesn’t know what happens when they flush the toilet, where it ends up. When it was Class B material, it wasn’t quite so pleasant, but to see this material now engineered to be recycled and used to grow vegetables, grass, and other things — that is what I really like. It’s not getting landfilled or burned like it is other places,” says Melvin. “And I love being in the crane. It changes every day, the dynamics of the system. I love developing camaraderie with the truck drivers, learning their nicknames, and getting them out with a good load.”