2-Year-Old Boy Is Besties With Garbage Man, and Even Dresses Like Him

Their friendly neighborhood garbage man even invited little Lance to sit in the truck, and test out some of the buttons that lift trash bins.

One neighborhood's trash collector is this Texas tot's treasure.

Read: Meet the 2-Year-Old Triplets Who Are Infatuated With Their Local Garbage Men

Ever since 2-year-old Lance Rufus and his family moved into a new home in Plano last year, he's been fascinated by the garbage collection every Monday.

"He would always get really excited when he would hear the garbage truck in the alley," his mom Chantal Rufus told InsideEdition.com. "Whatever we're doing, we stop, we run to the alley, and we watch [the trash collector] go up and down the alley and pick up the trash cans."

Eventually, the garbage man, James Jackson, stopped and introduced himself to the doting fans he spots every week.

The friendship quickly blossomed, and their friendly neighborhood garbage man even invited Lance to sit in the truck, and test out some of the buttons that lift the trash bins.

"His eyes got really big, and his face just lit up," his mom said. "That just became a thing every Monday."

Jackson even gifted the tot a piggy bank, shaped exactly like a trash container.

According to Rufus, she had originally only intended to ease her toddler into helping the family take out the trash.

Every Monday, she'd call on Lance to help gather things around the house that need to be thrown away or recycled, and they'd bring it into the alley together.

Then, "he would start to hear the beeps and the noise [the truck] makes," Rufus explained. "Every time after that, it was a thing. We just had to see the trucks."

When Halloween happened to fall on a Monday this year, it became clear to the family that Lance should dress up as his hero — James Jackson, the garbage man.

Read: I'll Just Take an Ubear: Animal Spotted Perched on Top of Garbage Truck, Cruising Neighborhood

Rufus said she made her son a reflective green vest, like the one Jackson wears, and used a tailgating trash can she purchased at a store, and decorated it to look like a miniature version of the city's bins.

"He plays with it still," she laughed.

On Halloween, Lance was excited to show off his costume on Jackson's regular route, and he was even able to collect candy in the bin when his family took him trick-or-treating.

"It was just our way of thanking James," the mother said.

Watch: Trash Company Finds Woman's $240,000 Ring After It Was Accidentally Thrown Away

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