Meet The Binmen Making Millions From Returning Your Recyclable Containers

PULLING up to a local housing estate in a Lamborghini refuse truck, binmen Derek Maher and Niall Rogers rubbed their hands with glee, anticipating the cold hard cash they’re going to make today from recycle bins packed full of lucrative plastic containers.

“Made my first million last month,” Derek reveals, carefully emptying the contents of number 5 Lime Road into their souped-up bin lorry, “we could make 10, 20gs a day – the deposit return scheme changed my life”.

In the first 40 days of the scheme, €1.2m worth of deposits were returned to customers in the form of vouchers issued by reverse vending machines, however, almost €20m in deposits were said to be left unclaimed sparking a scramble by opportunists.

“It’s like the gold rush boy!” said wheelie bin technician Rogers, “we’re fighting for overtime at the moment and working 24 hours a day, searching recycling skips in the refuse centres when finished the day job – I bought my first house last week, cash, using deposit return scheme vouchers”.

Refuse companies have been inundated with job vacancy requests since the scheme began, with potential employees even offering to work for free just to get a cut of the action.

“Hanging onto the back of a truck in the freezing rain used to be a job no one wanted, but now we’re having to turn away fellas,” refuse company CEO Jimmy Sacks told WWN.

Asked whether spiteful binmen will now be happy enough in their jobs where they don’t purposely leave the bin in the middle of your driveway anymore, blocking your entry, the majority said this will never happen as it’s too much fun.