Sayers said he had seen major changes to bin collections across Rushcliffe, starting out by manually collecting ash bins and waste bags before the introduction of wheelie bins and bin lifts on waste vehicles in the 2000s.
He also said the size of the trucks had increased since he began the job when recycling “wasn’t really a thing”.
But Sayers said one thing that had not changed was residents calling the council to check if the waste lorries were on their way.
“Time has absolutely flown by. I can’t actually believe it myself I’ve done it for 40 years but it doesn’t seem strange to me in another way.
“I’ve just got up in the morning and I’ve done my job and life has just carried on. It’s been a great job for me, it really has.
“It’s been security for me and it’s also been nice to meet the general public on the whole, they are nice and we do get appreciated,” he said.