1. I did it myself for 3 years in a drug-heavy areawhile working on my comp sci degree. didn’t touch a needle in the trash once. (+ You should be wearing at least basic protective gear. And you touch mostly trash containers, not like you’re swimming in people’s trash)
2. yeah it’s a nasty job with early hours. That’s the point. Nobody wants to do it, law of supply and demand -> it’s an opportunity to make a good living.
3. I’ve scrolled in this thread a little and you can find a reason for every single job why you can’t/don’t want to do it, especially the ones that will allow you to stand on your own. You’re talking about wanting your story to be one of overcoming adversity? Well you’ll have to accept living in adversity. Maybe it’s time to look at the job opportunities you can find and evaluate if you prefer doing those + living in e.g. a small appartment of your own over being stuck in your shitty home situation.

In my experience garbage collection tends to pay very well relatively and requires no special education. It is taxing on the body though so not something for the long long term. Though this may be different in the US