On a mission to keep the streets clean: while everyone else is asleep, Andrzej and his Atego are out and about in town

It’s 8:30 p.m. in Warsaw’s Wilanów district. At municipal service provider Remondis, there’s so much movement going on that it’s somewhat reminiscent of the comings and goings of a beehive. Some people are just arriving, while others are driving off: refuse collection trucks, road sweepers, road washers… The vehicles are washed, weighed and filled with water. And Andrzej Rzeziński is just starting his shift. He drives the brand-new Atego road sweeper through the barrier and is then ready to tackle the task of cleaning Warsaw’s streets. Just as he does every day.

The first few kilometres in the new Atego.

“I’m not yet totally used to it because our company only just bought this road sweeper,” says the 67-year-old Remondis driver with a laugh whilst simultaneously checking the controls in the cab to see whether all of the implements on its body are working correctly. “We’ve been working with vehicles from Mercedes for many years now. And that helps you to feel more at home and safe. It’s a comfy vehicle – especially the seat. The cab as a whole is also well-sprung.”

High performance despite low speeds.

In the flickering of the orange strobes, the Atego slowly goes about its work. There are no break-neck speeds here: when sweeping, the road sweeper reaches a top speed of 10-15 km/h. It’s almost a wonder that no-one falls asleep when driving at such speeds, but Andrzej who has been at Remondis for no less than 20 years explains to us that looks can be deceiving. “You have to stay vigilant the whole time and you can’t let yourself be distracted for so much as a single second. Especially as there are plenty of other road users who seem not to notice the flashing strobes and the real danger of a collision with the vehicle. You need eyes in the back and sides of your head. And you also need plenty of patience.”

A musical tour through the town.

In a shift like this, Andrzej covers as many as 80 km. The driver explains that there are a good many advantages to working at this time of night. “The main one is that the town is almost empty and that you don’t have to wait in traffic! You can better predict your work routine and you have less stress to deal with,” he says with contentment as he starts up the brushes. The dust gathered up by the machines and the small pieces of rubbish it collects are vacuumed up into a special container. Once a road has been “hoovered” like this, the road sprayer can then come along and hose down the road surface. The city checks on a daily basis whether all roads have been cleaned as has been contractually agreed with the company.

In the cab, there’s music playing. Andrzej has gotten used to listening to music while he works. It drowns out the monotonous sound of the brushes which can be heard through the open window. The radio can be conveniently controlled using the control panel on the steering wheel. “I’ve also got air con in here but if the weather’s nice, I like to drive with the window open. Means I can check everything that little bit easier,” he tells us. “Plus, I love listening to music. A few years ago, I even sang in The Cracow Philharmonic’s choir. One of my daughters is a singer and she sings in the Warsaw Chamber Opera!”

Photos: Krzysztof Skłodowski