Heroic garbage collector who saved girl from compactor said he couldn’t afford Christmas gifts

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga — This holiday season, inflation is the grinch that stole Christmas for a lot of families across metro Atlanta.

Channel 2′s Sophia Choi spoke with a man who says inflation has seriously impacted his gift-giving this year.

Peter Williams was one of three garbage collectors who, in October, saved a girl sleeping in a trash bin from getting crushed.

Williams got an extra $1500 bonus for his heroics. But even still, he says that’s not enough to offset inflation costs.

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“It’s definitely not enough. I do a lot of overtime to try and compensate for certain things I can’t do with my base salary,” Williams said.

To save money, Williams says he bought less expensive gifts for Christmas gifts and even had to leave people off of the gift list this Christmas.

Williams also watches out for his own kid, a 7-month-old baby boy named Cross. With inflation a major factor, he is doing what he can to make ends meet for his family.

To make those ends meet, Wiliams does his best to look for bargains and stay flexible.

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“It’s just compromising and finding different shortcuts and things to get by,” Williams said.

Williams got an early Christmas gift from the county: another pay raise.

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