The year was 1968, and 15-year-old Sid was keen to be a dustie – the name for the dust bin collectors who went door-to-door all over the capital collecting rubbish from household bins.
The problem for Sid was that you needed to be 18 or older to sign up.
“I don’t think they believed I was 18, but they gave me the job anyway. But then when I turned 18 and the boss found out he actually sacked me," Sid laughs.
“One of the guys went in and had a go at him, and the boss eventually changed his mind but said I was on notice from then on.”
Fast forward 52 years and the keen lad from East Coast is still working for Wellington City Council. He's since worked several different roles and is currently an auditor in the City Networks team.
Sid still fondly recalls life as a dustie – a hard, physical job that kept him fit.
It involved running all over Wellington, going from backdoor to backdoor emptying the metal bins into huge sacks, then lugging the sacks out to the ‘Paxit’ or Bedford rubbish trucks.
On wet days the sacks got even heavier, the roads slippery, and the hard work even harder.