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Not just trash talk: Chief sanitizer is retiring at last

After 27 years and two patents, St. Petersburg's sanitation director is stepping down.

By CARRIE WEIMAR
Published April 23, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - It was 1979 when Chuck Schauer decided to make the shift from city planning to become a manager in the sanitation department.

His 12-year-old daughter was not impressed.

"She didn't like the idea of her dad working in garbage collection,'' said Schauer, 62, now the city's director of sanitation. "City planner had a much nicer sound to it.''

Two patents, one certificate of appreciation and 27 years later, Schauer has decided to retire. His last day is Friday.

In all, Schauer spent 34 years working for the city, including six years as sanitation director. Benjamin Shirley, who has served as assistant sanitation director since 2000, has been named as Schauer's replacement.

Schauer said he's ready for retirement and plans to spend his time working on his house on the Santa Fe River in Fort White, a community about 30 miles northwest of Gainesville. Schauer also likes to tinker with cars, including a 1983 Mustang convertible he has rebuilt.

"I have plenty to do,'' he said, chuckling.

Schauer grew up on a farm in Storden, Minn. After high school graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy, where he was an aviation ordnanceman.

Schauer later received a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of South Florida. He began working for St. Petersburg in the planning department in 1973.

Schauer said his greatest achievement was designing a new kind of garbage container for the city, for which he holds two patents.

The cans the city previously used were wobbly and unreliable. So Schauer helped design a 90-gallon container with a lid that opens exactly 110 degrees, which is not enough to make the container unstable but enough so a resident can deposit trash without having to hold the lid up with one hand.

After an automated truck returns the container to the ground, the lid automatically closes and keeps out rain. The containers are used by several communities throughout Florida and the city still receives royalties: about $353,000 so far, Schauer said.

While he's ready for retirement, Schauer said he'll miss many of his colleagues. They're planning a small party for him Friday at the city's sanitation center.

"There's a lot of good people in sanitation,'' he said. "I'll be back to visit them.''

Carrie Weimar can be reached at (727) 892-2273.

[Last modified April 23, 2006, 11:11:18]