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Alton garbage collector's show of respect goes viral

He's proving no act of kindness is ever wasted.
IMAGE COURTESY DANIELLE JOANN

Barnell Newby, a collector with Robert Sanders Waste Systems, did what he thought was the right thing.

“I was picking up the two toters and I noticed a funeral was coming,” he said.

So, he stopped his truck and pulled over.

“Actually I shut my truck off too so they wouldn't have to be bothered with the sound, and I waited for the people to get pulled in there,” he said.

Danielle Joann stopped and snapped a picture, and posted it to Facebook. It really clicked with people: it's been shared more than 300 times.

“One of the comments is ‘This is so awesome to see, nowadays respect is rarely shown, love and respect this man for this,’” reads Newby.

The post quickly made its way to Newby's boss, Robert Sanders.

“We was out of town at the time, but when we seen I was like this is amazing,” he said.

To Newby, it's about common courtesies that people are too quick to toss out.

“Everybody should do it if you ask me, and it's only polite to sit there and just do something like that,” he said.

It may seem small, but it's had a big impact on the community - Sanders says people were even sending cards and letters about him - as well as Newby himself.

“It makes me feel wonderful on the inside, it makes me feel like I'm definitely doing my part in this community to make it a better place, that's for sure.”

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