Get to know Gretchen, a Seattle Ridwell driver
Meet Gretchen! She’s a Ridwell driver who lives in West Seattle and has been driving for us since January of 2021. She moved to Seattle from Pennsylvania in 1999 and ended up falling in love with the area as well as the man who would become her husband. We recently sat down with Gretchen to get to know her better and highlight the awesome person that she is and the great work she does at Ridwell.
What does your work at Ridwell look like on a typical day?
We meet up at 7:30am for a quick huddle with management. Then we get our vans set up for the day and drive to the neighborhood we'll be servicing that day. Sometimes we'll hop on a ferry and head to Bainbridge Island. On an average day I do between 100 and 175 pickups.
What's something you enjoy about your job?
People are so excited to see us. We're treated like rockstars in public. Even when I just walk into a coffee shop wearing a Ridwell sweatshirt I've gotten really happy, excited reactions from people. It's also a very physical job with climbing all of those steps and lifting but that's actually something I like about it. I don’t need to go to the gym after work.
What's something you've learned about wasting less in your role?
I'm just amazed at how little changes like not tossing plastic film into your trash make such a big difference. By doing this, I've been able to decrease my house's trash output dramatically and ended up having to downsize to the smallest bin that the city offers which has also saved me money on garbage collection. I've also learned that every household doing just a little bit really helps and adds up. I see how much comes in at the end of the day from all of our drivers. It's a massive amount that we collect in Seattle and keep out of landfills.
What's a fun fact about you?
I owned an independent bookstore in West Seattle for 10 years. I also went to school for massage therapy.
What type of music or podcast do you like to listen to while you're driving or working?
I've started listening to so many different things because of this job. Lately I’ve been listening to Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People and different true crime podcasts. Stuff You Should Know is one of my favorite podcasts of all time. For music, I've been listening to a lot of 80s and 90s alternative music and like revisiting the top hits per decade.
What does your ideal day off look like? What are you doing? What are you eating?
I enjoy relaxing with my family, reading, and gardening. I like to get out of the city and go visit the Washington coast. I like eating whatever my husband is making, especially fajitas on the grill. Sometimes we'll do cedar plank salmon, too, which is delicious. My son is getting into cooking lately so I've enjoyed eating things he cooks like steak and corn.
If you live in Seattle, keep an eye out for Gretchen and be sure to say hi if you see her picking up from your bin!
Photos by Casey Ailes
