INTERVIEW


‘At the start my intention was never to stay small, I didn’t want to just make a good living. Some would call that a lifestyle job and I wasn’t interested in that, I wanted to work hard and grow the business’


“Recycling wasn’t as popular 16 years or so ago


compared to what it is today, so at the start we were mainly collecting and tipping general waste. There was the odd bit of glass recycling going on and a little bit of paper and cardboard but other than that it was all general waste,” explains Paul. “I was physically doing a lot of the collections at the time


and there was a company doing a little bit of glass collection from pubs. I would be collecting waste bins while they were sorting the bins with glass in. “We would pay for everything on weight but charge on


volume – quite an antiquated way of operating. However the glass collectors pulled out, which then meant all the glass would go in the general waste bin, meaning we were making less money as the bins were heavier.


Bakers Waste is now Leicester City's official waste partner “I contacted the company and asked why they had


stopped and they told me the pub industry refused to pay for the glass recycling service. I took the view that the company still wanted the glass but couldn’t run the collections at a cost-effective level so I suggested they give me their customer list, leave their bins on the sites, give me a truck and I would give them the glass. “They agreed and I contacted the clients to tell them they


had two choices – they could either start paying more for general waste because of the added weight of the glass or they could have a glass service at a reduced rate. That’s essentially recycling – it’s good for the environment, it’s the future, it’s the way we were going and that was the start of a new venture for the company. Getting in at an early stage to see that opportunity was great as it set us on the right path.” It was at this point that the business entered a growth


phase that complimented both its ambition and the evolving climate surrounding waste, recycling and sustainability. On the one hand it was developing an


business network March 2019 51


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