waste management
Anyone for a bit of Muff?
Our August Skip Hunk has been sent in by some admiring colleagues at ABL Skip Hire, in Llanelli, South Wales. Here’s what they have to say…
“Dear The Skip,
After months of browsing your magazine, we have decided that we have our very own Skip Hunk down here in South West Wales and have decided that we should share him
with everyone…
Here are some statistics on our Mr Martin Julian Evans or, as we like to call him, “MUFF”:
1. Born 30th August 1970 – now at the tender Age of 38 – don’t you agree he looks well?!
2. Martin is a fun-loving man who works hard – but plays even harder!!!
3. His hobbies include going to the gym, playing golf, and socialising around the local town of Llanelli with all his mates. Unfortunately, Martin is single at the moment and is in desperate need of a good woman… we love him in the office, he is always up for a laugh and the life and sole of the party keeping us entertained all day long.
We would be most grateful if you would give our Muff the opportunity of being Skip Hunk of the Month, as this would really make his day. He is very self conscious of his looks and we would love all the ladies who read your magazine to agree with the ABL girls…
Many Thanks,
Natalie & Anica, ABL Skip Hire”
Your wish is our command, girls! If any of you ladies out there are interested in Muff, get in touch with us at The Skip and we can pass on your details. Email pr@theskip.net
August 12, 2008 at 5:06 pm | Skip Hunks | No comment
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SKIP WATCH
You know the increasing need to consider the environment, right? Well, it got me thinking (doesn’t happen often, but it gets me through the ad breaks when I don’t have a Pot Noodle to tend to) while we indulge in the sheer delight of all these gloriously overloaded skips, are we missing an altogether more important issue – underloaded skips?
I was on a bus into Manchester after a long lunch yesterday afternoon (I left the car at The Red Lion – for the sake of the environment, of course), when I saw a typical 8 yard builder’s skip being collected from the road outside a house refurb. From my vantage point upstairs, desperately clinging to the bars of the swaying seat in front, I was able to peer down at the contents of the skip. I was amazed – but for all the wrong reasons. Barely covering the base of the skip, I saw about a dozen broken paving slabs, a couple of paint cans, the obligatory newspaper and what looked like a discarded kebab (hence the kebab I immediately purchased when I arrived at my destination). And let’s face it, I was p***** again so there may only have been half the amount of stuff I actually thought I saw through that sweaty bus window!
My point is this; even without considering the extra cost of hiring an overly-large skip these days, it’s surely just plain wrong to go hiring a skip that ends up being barely half-filled? To get incisively environmentalist about it, there’s still the same pollution caused by the truck that drops and collects it… the same sliver of tree used for the paperwork… the same drain on the National Grid when the customer makes a brew for the driver, and so on (that’s an unwritten law, by the way, so make sure you’re getting your collection brew or you’ll just be furthering the problem by stopping off for drinks that come in disposable containers – make sure the customer understands that they are helping the environment by furnishing you with your beverage of choice).
A handful of paving slabs can cripple a car, so I’m not suggesting that a skip was unnecessary in this case, but a bit of homework and basic ‘guestimation’ would probably have saved the customer some money, and the environment some abuse.
One way of reducing this kind of wasteful, over-sized skip ordering is to provide customers with a guide to what kind of skip they should order for the job at hand – the TopSkips web site does this job very well, whilst also giving the customer some reassurance that they are dealing with a company who wants to meet their needs, rather than push the most expensive option.
Here’s another idea I had (that’s two in one month – I’ll be on “The Apprentice” soon, I reckon). It’s a bit radical as it involves people actually making contact with their neighbours, but I’ll throw it out there anyway…
It’s basically the opposite of ‘skip-jacking’ (when you hire a nice empty skip, and then find that one of your lovely neighbours plucked up the Stella-fuelled, midnight courage to fill it with their entire life’s possessions). What if there was a scheme to encourage ‘skip-sharing’? A special deal could be offered to neighbours who book a shared skip – gaining new business from people who wouldn’t consider ordering a skip for their amount of waste alone, but might take advantage of an opportunity to share the cost with a neighbour. A simple leaflet drop could inform a whole street of the opportunity to get rid of their waste at an affordable price, as well as outlining the environmental benefits of skip-sharing (not to mention the fact that it might even go some way to reviving a sense of ‘community’). Your business gets to promote its environmental commitment, skip hire becomes affordable to people who would otherwise feel out-priced, and skip-jacking/fly-tipping could even be reduced.
Is it a rubbish idea? (That’s the oldest pun in the industry, so believe me when I say it’s not intended.) Let me know what you think anyway – it could be completely unworkable as you will know better than me.
If you’ve made it this far through my ramblings, you may well be thinking “Get on with it, man, you’ve made your point!” (In fact, you’re probably thinking something far more unprintable, as even I’m thinking that!) So, not wanting to disappoint those of you who share my ultimate passion, below is an overloaded skip from Centro Waste Skip Hire in Birmingham. It reminds me of a party I went to recently, where the ‘buffet’ was basically some breadsticks and cheese straws crammed into an undersized glass (which was appropriate, as the girl who’s party it was looked surprisingly similar in her outfit – it’s okay, she’s too busy lying to her ‘friends’ on Facebook to be reading The Skip).
So, let me know your thoughts on skip-sharing, keep those overloaded gems coming, and snap any outrageously underloaded skips you pick up. I’m going to start keeping a tally of which is more rife (unless someone can suggest a better reason for my life) As usual, email pr@theskip.net or post them to – The Skip, Baxall Business Centre, Adswood Road,Stockport, SK3 8LF.
August 11, 2008 at 5:10 pm | Overloaded Skips! | No comment
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One for the lads…
Our Skip Chick this month has many talents, which include pole dancing and rustling up fine snacks. What else do you need to know? Oh yeah, she’s also single. Basically, she’s perfect!
Q. Hi Laura, please can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do for the company?
A. I serve breakfast at Snackeads butty bar, which is in Majors Waste Transfer Station, Birkenhead.
I am 23 and single. I love going out dancing; twice a week, I go to pole dancing lessons (just for fitness).
Q. Okay, we’ll believe you! So what’s the best thing about feeding all those hard workers at Majors?
A. I like to have a crack with the lads. I also double as an agony aunt; if any of the younger men have girlfriend trouble, they come to me for advice. But the best thing of all is the fact that everybody goes away with a smile on their face.
Q. I bet they do – and not just because of the food. There’s nothing like a pole dancing Skip Chick to cheer up even the most miserable of folk! What do you like most about The Skip then, Laura?
A. The skip mag stays in the cafe and the girls compare the Hunk of the Month with the customers. As you can imagine, it boosts sales if the comparison is good.
Q. Let’s hope ‘Muff’ goes down well, then! Have you any parting words of wisdom for our readers?
A. When its cold and wet and the job’s gone to rats,
When the kids need new shoes and your all out of cash,
Don’t worry about a thing, cos everything is gonna be alright!
Thanks! And thanks for being our Skip Chick, Laura.
We’re giving £250 cash to the hottest Skip Chick of 2008, so get snapping & email your entries to pr@theskip.net
August 9, 2008 at 5:02 pm | Skip Chicks | No comment
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EXCLUSIVE: SKIPFEST IS COMING!
SKIPFEST, or “The 1st National Skip Hire Industry Exhibition and Conference” (that really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it), is coming in Spring 2009.
SKIPFEST promises two days packed with talks and seminars from leading figures from within the industry on:
• The future of the industry
• How to market your skip business better
• How to use technology more effectively
• How to maximise your income from recycling
• How to reduce spiralling insurance costs
And much, much more. It also promises a large truck and plant auction, as well as featuring exhibits from your favourite advertisers in The Skip magazine of all the essential products and services your business needs to flourish and prosper.
On top of all that, there is planned a large Gala dinner promising an unforgettable night of music, comedy and, more importantly, networking opportunities.
The skip hire industry has never had it so good!
To register your interest in visiting the show, or exhibiting, go to www.SkipFest.co.uk now!
August 8, 2008 at 4:57 pm | Skip Hire Industry News | No comment
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