New Los Alamos County Environmental Services Division Manager Armando Gabaldon during a visit Wednesday morning to the Los Alamos Daily Post. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Having a career in waste management was a bit of a surprise to Los Alamos County Environmental Services Division Manager Armando Gabaldon. As a kid, he daydreamed about being a firefighter then becoming a fire chief and even going through the hiring process but then a different career path presented itself.
“I never envisioned being a garbage man and (having it) become a full-blown career,” he said. “I never thought I would be experiencing having a trashy career.”
And yet Gabaldon is approaching his 20th year in the business. He started out at the entry level as a trash collector for City of Santa Fe Solid Waste. Then promoted to a Heavy Equipment Operator, then to Commercial Operator and then Recycling Supervisor. In 2018, Gabaldon made the move to work as a superintendent for Los Alamos Environmental Services after being recruited by then Division Manager Angelica Gurule. When Gurule was promoted to County Sustainability Manager, and at his crew’s recommendation, Gabaldon decided to try for her former position.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Gabaldon said. “…I will be hitting 20 years in May. Trash is all I’ve known, I have plans to retire here.”
Public Works Director Juan Rael said he is pleased Gabaldon has taken the reigns at the Environmental Services Division.
“Armando brings a tremendous amount of experience in the solid waste industry, to his new role as Division Manager,” Rael said. “We look forward to integrating his field experience to benefit the Environmental Services Division. Armando has a great personality that will shine through as he provides great customer service to our community.”
As far as his plans for the division, Gabaldon said he wants to continue the current programs that Gurule implemented during her tenure, which include the yard trimming collection program, backyard compost kits, roll out of the bear proof carts and the newly approved municipal-wide food compost program.
Additionally, he pointed out there has been a change in the hazardous waste drop-off schedule. It is now scheduled for one day, once a month. Gabaldon said this is a result of some of the materials being deposited that were far above anything staff could handle and were posing a liability for the County. A professional contractor needed to be hired to address this material. Another issue Gabaldon said he would like to address is illegal dumping. Instead of bringing large loads to the Eco Station, some are just resorting to tossing non recyclables into recycling bins or just dumping trash anywhere. By contaminating the recycle bin the whole load may have to be thrown out as trash, which goes against the communities’ goals.
He said he sees opportunities to engage with the public for instance, the White Rock Convenience Center is not for large tipping loads, rather it was intended to provide a little extra relief for White Rock residents that may have a few extra bags of trash that have accumulated over the week. He added he would like to provide awareness through education.
“One goal of mine is reaching out to the public and hopefully getting some understanding of the issues we face and how we can work together to provide efficient services to our customers…,” he said.
Garbage is not the most glamorous job but those who work with it are unsung heroes, Gabaldon said, pointing out that most people don’t think about the trash unless it doesn’t get picked up.
Still, it is an essential service, and his staff are an asset to the community, Gabaldon said.
“My drivers do their best to provide that service day in, day out, no matter the weather,” he said. “They are out there, doing their best and their part. We do it just about perfect.”
When not at work, Gabaldon said he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids.
Gabaldon said they are active – his children are involved in sports and rodeo.
Family is important to Gabaldon. He said they are the biggest reason why he accepted employment with Los Alamos County and currently serves as the Environmental Services Division Manager.
“…I have always been hungry to learn and striving to get to the top,” Gabaldon said. “I knew this was something I had to do for my family. The industry brought me in and kept me.”
He added he is honored to serve for Los Alamos County Environmental Services.
