May 4, 2022 1.30 pm This story is over 22 months old

Meet three North East Lincolnshire binmen doing their rounds with a smile

A wholesome tale about three men who love their job
By Local Democracy Reporter

Three binmen in North East Lincolnshire have featured in a YouTube series looking at UK refuse collection crews, as they discussed their positive attitudes and why it’s such a great job.

Frank, Rocky and Rob have been doing the recycling bin rounds in North East Lincolnshire for over 30 years combined, and they still treat every shift like it’s the first time.

The trio were stars of Dennis Eagle’s YouTube series Bin Days, which follows refuse collection crews across the country to look at their working responsibilities.

All three have a strong working relationship, which Frank says is full of banter. “We all get on first and foremost”, he said.

When asked about his job, Frank said they all laugh from the minute they start to the minute they go home, praising the hours as it allows them to spend time with their families as well.

The term ‘refuse collector’ isn’t one that Frank, Rocky and Rob subscribe to. “Binmen, common as muck” were the words of Frank, while Rocky said: “We don’t use refuse, binmen sounds better!”

The YouTube video follows the men on a shift, from collecting the bins around North East Lincolnshire streets to disposing of the rubbish afterwards.

They collect recycling waste every fortnight, sending domestic waste to an incinerator plant and dropping paper off in a nearby outbuilding where it is stored.

When asked about their approach to work, Rocky said he “always wanted to be a writer” as reference was made to his daily singing of popular songs, though Frank accuses him of getting the lyrics wrong all the time!

However, amongst the informative side of learning about a binman’s day to day work, there was sincerity and genuine positivity about the line of work they find themselves in.

Rocky said: “Life is about smiling and being happy, you can’t be miserable all the time.”

Perhaps the most poetic summary of a binman’s job came from Frank, who said: “There’s not many places you can get paid for getting a tan, is there?” A good point well made.