Running for Empties (1988)

(milk crates clanging) (school bell rings) After a hard day at school, most kids might think they deserve a rest. But for Glen the day is only half over. He's a milk boy and most evenings he works on the city streets. Personal delivery of milk fresh off the farm the day before, it could be a story out of a science fiction fantasy. (music plays) For Glenn working on into the night is an adventure. Like a space warrior shuttling milk from a mother ship to the inhabitants of the planet. (music plays) (driver) How's it going?

(Glen) Good. But every day all over New Zealand young people like Glenn work on milk runs. (Glen) I got started on the milk run because my brothers did it before I did. My friends you know when I go out on on a wet day they go I'm glad I'm not you, I'm glad I'm not you, but on the days that I got all the money they going oh I wish I was you wish I was you. I'm saving for a skateboard .

With four hours to go the work and the drama begin. For the milk boys its more than a job, it's a race, against time the elements and each other. Premd with an icy cargo the crates are shared between customized trollies, they become glass dodgems ideal for tackling the city terrain. The work is hard, the pressure is on, and they know that each day is going to be different. With full payloads the boys are ready to do battle, a race to the end of town. Glass bottles can be used again and again, plastic tokens pay for the new milk they're more convenient than using money. (Glen) I try to concentrate on which houses take what sort of milk and try to remember which houses to look behind the box and try to remember when to look across the street and which houses to look at, and hopefully try not to forget anything. I don't like people who put one token in one bottle and they've got about seven bottles and they got a token in each bottle cuz that takes me ages to get all the tokens out. And um some people who have got too much less change sometimes when there've got one's and two cent's pieces it really holds you up quite a bit. If you think about the milk run you start thinking oh no its dangerous I'm gonna get run over the next day or something like that, but I just try not to think about if it's dangerous or not I just trying to think oh it's good fun nothing to worry about. Ah the dogs are quite annoying because they bark and run alongside you or try and nip you on the back of the leg, but the cat's aren't so bad because they run off as soon as they see ya. (music playing) (dramatic music plays) (Glen) The race is usually just friendly competition between us two. I enjoy it when I win, he enjoys it when he wins, it's just friendly competition. Against a darkening city backdrop the day and the race are over. (Glen) Yeah I look forward to the next day I quite enjoy doing the milk run, I know It keeps me fit and um I just try not to think about how long it's gonna take, it's gonna be fun. Now people can also buy their milk in cartons at the supermarket, so one day the delivery trucks will probably stop. But for Glen there will always be the memories of his nights on the run. (music plays)

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