A Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) waste driver and crew leader has reached the remarkable milestone of 40 years working for the authority and collected an astonishing six million bins.
Keith Sayers joined RBC in 1986 and has helped recycle in the region of a billion items in the Borough, travelling an estimated 240,000 miles as part of his role – or 10 times around the world.
He joined the Council on a temporary contract, initially helping electricians and the drainage team in the buildings department before taking on a full-time role within the waste team.
Keith’s time on the team has seen major changes to bin collections across Rushcliffe, starting out by manually collecting ash bins and waste bags, before the introduction of wheelie bins and bin lifts on waste vehicles in the 2000s.
RBC’s Assistant Director for Environment and Communities, Darryl Burch, said: “Keith is a fantastic member of our team.
“To be here at Rushcliffe for 40 years is really impressive, and being in the same job for all those years is remarkable. He has worked outside in all weathers, and the change he has seen is amazing!
“Keith had worked here for 20 years before we even introduced wheeled bins. At the time, crews were going around the back of properties to pull bags out of bins and, in parts of the Borough, removing full bins of ash. Recycling was not even on the radar then, so things have really changed.
“We are really pleased that Keith remains a really important and valuable member of the team.”
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety, Cllr Rob Inglis, added: “Congratulations to Keith on reaching this great working milestone. His loyalty to RBC is inspiring, and it’s heartening to hear how happy he remains in the role.
“Anyone working in any industry for this length of time deserves recognition, but the fact that this can be such a challenging role at times, in the extremities of the weather, is testament to his work ethic. Well done, Keith, and we hope you are with us for many years to come.”
