Looking at the options available, i’m thinking about going on the bins.
can anyone tell me what it is like and what I can expect?
thanks
Stuart
I may have to start as a loader until a driving vacancy turns up
Well i only did a couple of days with biffa on the agency but i can honestly say i really enjoyed it, even though it was hard graft jumping about all day and running for bins, Also it certainly teaches you how to drive in confined spaces i drove a 6 legger seddon atki and some of the places i put it at 1st glance i wouldnt of thought it would get in there…
Saying that i dont know if i would do the job fulltime as it was a 14 hour day of constant graft and me being a lazy ■■■■ i would probably only last a fortnight
simon
I worked on the bins as a loader for about three years,and its one of the best jobs for having a laugh i’ve ever had…i would have been a driver but didn’t have my LGV licence at the time. The drivers get paid a bit extra as they have the responsibility of the truck and do little extra’s such as daily checks and fuelling up.The trucks are nearly all automatics these days as you can imagine how many times you would be working the clutch on stop/starts all day…all in all not a bad job,guess you should give it a go and see if it suits you…oh and if you get on a regular round at christmas you get more beers than you could ever drink over the festive period and about a grand and half in tips-sometimes more 
SCAN
you get tio drive a sedd ack with an auto box, what more could you want? 
I would imagine it depends what you’re doing.
The way i see it there are two types of bin lorry driving.
Residential streets, sitting on your bum most of the day plodding along at 10mph
or doing the large wheelie skips from business’ which might be just you and maybe a mate, jumping in and out doing it yourself.
dennisw1:
or doing the large wheelie skips from business’ which might be just you and maybe a mate, jumping in and out doing it yourself.
Thats what i was doing sorry i forgot to add
simon
I did the bins in the Borough of Elmbridge (richest borough in the country house pricewise)
I was normally finished by 13.00 often earlier & it was a great laugh (as a moderator I feel I should set a good example so wont tell ya some of the things we got up to )
I worked via an agency and was guranteeed 2 hours overtime a day + extra overtime if we went and helped out another round that had broken down
So I was starting at 06.00
finishing by 13.00
guranteed 10 hours overtime
with up to another 10 some weeks
I never finished later than 15.30
So al;l in all one of the better jobs but the pay for the full timers was pants 
have only ever done the commercial stuff in 8 leggers, quite a good laugh if you get a good drivers mate, not normally too stressful and finish times are reasonable. I would do it again quite happily if the job came up.
Had a go at this certainly wouldn’t have a problem going back on it but only on agency rates!
Avoid general waste skips, usually paid by the skip, they’ll have you flying round like a lunatic, not for the feint hearted. Did it on AGY a coup[le of times, never again.
If its anything like York council don’t bother.
I did it for 25 years up untill Xmas eve last year, as a loader, driver & in the office.
Yes it can be fun if you have a decent set of lads with you, but a lot of the time they are agency staff & for the minimum wage would you work like hell when the bloke next to you gets almost double your wage, plus they don,t know where to go & a lot of them have never done hard physical labour before.
You also have managment constantly on your back with targets to be met, health & safety & anything else they can come up with to make the job harder for you, its emptying bins for ■■■■■ sake not rocket sience.
You also have the public moaning about everything you do, its always your fault when they don’t put there bin out on time.
As for driving ,yes there all auto boxes, but my god is it boring sitting there watching a 5ins screen all day, driving a few feet then stopping, then a few feet then stopping.
Best thing i ever did getting out while i was still sane, either that or stick one on the usless ■■■ of a manager who thinks he knows everything.
But hey dont let me put you off, it might be right up your street.
PS the moneys not that good either
Regards & all the best for 2006
Mick
i spent 8 months with southampton council last year driving mainly DENNIS eagles but with a couple of hired econics (crap) but i did love it. i was agency, nearly went full time but i decided i wanted to go out on the road again so i left it. i started at 0600 and finished any time between 11 and 5 depending on how long i wanted to work. normal finish time was around 1pm taking home £300 (if i went on to the councils books). it is a good crack if you get a decent team but southampton would put you in a pool of drivers. most full timers had their own run but they had others covering bits and pieces so you never knew what you were doing. the odd occasion had me being sent home due to them running out of trucks 
BTW, with southampton, overtime does not start after X amount of hours. you finish the job you were given and then you are on overtime if you accept anything else ie helping another crew. it is hourly paid then and all non tacho so you can always add the odd extra hour here and there without them noticing
Did it for nearly 2 years… Enjoyed it.
Occasionally the guys get propositioned. Happened to two loaders on the round i was on. One only asked if he could use her toilet…
A loader was caught pooing in the bin of a house he was supposed to be collecting from. The owner caught him. And the loaders reply to why he was doing this was, “I couldn’t help it! The head was popping out!”
Even worse 
the owner took the ‘evidence’ back to complain about…
You also have managment constantly on your back with targets to be met, health & safety & anything else they can come up with to make the job harder for you, its emptying bins for [zb] sake not rocket sience.
that type of thing is creeping in all over the place, these clipboard merchants want wrapping in concrete and ■■■■■■■ off into the sea!
Its the same as driving a bus, fixed routes and you carry rubbish around.
I did it for agency, good pay, but the firms drivers were only paid 8 hours a day which often went into 9 or 10.Also depends on your loaders.Good job in the summer to lose weight, oh dont forget the peg for your nose.
leslie g heath:
Its the same as driving a bus, fixed routes and you carry rubbish around.
Im loving that comment 
simon
I’ve only done it on the agency, but every time i’ve done it its been really good, just echoing what people have already said but…if you get a good crew your sorted, REMEMBER most refuse places employ the driver to drive, However I find that if you get out and graft when theres a lot of bins to be emptied you get more credit from your crew mates. From what I’ve heard (however don’t quote me) Its better to work for a local council than a private firm subbing of the council!
Done the bins on the agency afew years ago and i must say I enjoyed every minute of it. It was hard work but would go back to it if the money was right
Super Dan:
. From what I’ve heard (however don’t quote me) Its better to work for a local council than a private firm subbing of the council!
definately. i know that southampton and totton are still on log books since they take care of their own refuse but portsmouth is covered by onyx and they are more strict. the council bin wagons dont have tachos fitted but their other trucks do but are not used.
as for helping the crew, my advice is to get out whenever suitable ie cul-de-sacs etc. you get home quicker and they will resent you if you sit on your arse all day