Interview

Michele Donati, a 45-year-old from Ferrara, always out on the road. Since July 2020, he has been the driver of a mobile container bin lorry for the Waste Management Department of Hera, after 20 years as a coach driver for a well-known transport company.

“At the end of spring, two pieces of good news arrived,” explains Michele. “The virus, which was like a bolt out of the blue, started to loosen its grip, allowing a little more freedom for everyone, and there was a new job for me. Starting work at Hera was, for me, a huge qualitative leap: I am very serene now, both regarding my contractual status and my health.Also, employment in the Covid era is even more important: I truly feel useful, and happy to be able to go out every day, to be out on the road.”
And this road is the very motorway that Michele sees every day from his window and that, over these months, has monitored the rhythm of life, a life that at first seemed to have stopped with all traffic gone, and then, slowly, revved up again towards normality. “I felt miserable seeing that deserted motorway, that silence… just like scenes from a film.” It was a ‘film’ in which Michele played a starring role, thanks to his voluntary work as a fireman.

Michele is a sociable person and also now, working in Hera, he has easily integrated into his new team. “Even though we don’t have many meetings, we colleagues see each other in the changing room, we chat, we discuss things: we are a close team and fairly similar, also in age”.
And now it’s simply time to look to the future as Michele, despite having already reached some important goals, is ready for new projects. “In my life now, I have everything: a partner, a daughter of 5 years old, a job I like and my hobbies. Now, my family and I can think about a new house… this one is small. And, then, it’s great to dive into new adventures, never staying still…”