History of the Championships
2018 – OVER £20K RAISED FOR CHARITY
On Saturday 16 June over 2000 people gathered along the beachfront at Weston-super-Mare to watch bin men and women from all across the UK competing in the second annual National Refuse Championships (NRC). The event managed to raise over £20k for The Alzheimer’s Society and over 30 teams competed in a gruelling race against the clock – repeatedly loading wheelie bins with bags of sand then pulling or pushing them, whilst running, to an awaiting refuse truck and emptying them before the vehicles raced to the finish line.
Teams included Biffa Municipal, Gullivers Truck Hire, Grundon, Simply Waste Solutions, Oxford Direct Services, Amey, Swansea Council, FCS, VWS, Pirtek, Imperial Commercials, Aberdeenshire Council, Cawleys, Viridor, Weir Waste, Hills Waste, WSR Recycling and Devon Contract Waste.
Grist Environmental, a waste management company based in Devizes, Wiltshire were crowned the National Refuse Champions 2018, with local team Biffa (Weston-super-Mare) coming second and Cartwrights Waste Disposal Services taking third place. Each member of the winning team was presented with vouchers towards a Center Parcs holiday, second place team members received £250 worth of Buy-A-Gift Vouchers, and third place team members received £200 worth of Buy-A-Gift Vouchers.
Marcus Grist, Events Director, Grist Environmental and Team Captain/Driver: “We are over the moon to have won the title and the trophy will take pride of place in reception at our head office along with some pictures of the day. It was brilliant and all the staff are buzzing. People keep congratulating us and the directors of the company, including my father, are very proud. One of the team said that it was his biggest achievement in over 15 years of working with refuse vehicles and I think it’s certainly the best team event our company has ever experienced. “
The races were officially opened by Cllr David Jolley, Chairman of North Somerset Council:
“I was delighted to host the National Refuse Championships in Weston-super-Mare for the second year running. You wouldn’t expect wheelie bin racing to be so gripping and exciting to watch! I’m pleased our local team got second place – they put in a fantastic effort. It is such a great family day out and in the process over £20k was raised for The Alzheimer’s Society. The event has grown since last year with double the number of teams taking part and a much bigger exhibition. I hope the organisers choose to hold the event here again next year. I shall look forward to it.”
Spencer Law, Founder of the NRC and Managing Director, Refuse Vehicle Solutions Ltd (RVS) said of the event: “I’m overwhelmed with how well it went. The feedback has been so positive and it appears news travels fast as we’ve already had four enquiries from local authorities wishing to enter teams next year!
“I’d like to thank everyone who made the event such a success: staff, exhibitors, the teams, sponsors and supporting companies, and of course all those people who turned up to watch. There was a great atmosphere.”
The event included an exhibition and seminar programme the day before, on Friday 15 June, with well-known names from the waste management sector taking part including Dennis Eagle, Mercedes, Hyva, DAF, NTM, Boughton, CMS Supatrak, Hills Waste Management, Scarab Sweepers and Epic Media.
A schools outreach programme enabled local primary school children to get involved. They took part in their own ‘Recycling Races’ and got to see first-hand the latest recycling vehicle technology in action. They all went home with lots of giveaways from exhibitors as mementos of their trip.
Laura Hewitt, Community Fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Society said: “We’re overwhelmed by the amount of money that has been raised for Alzheimer’s Society at the National Refuse Championships this year. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers, the teams who took park in the races with such competitive spirit, and those that contributed and made a donation on the day. The atmosphere this year was fantastic. It was great to see so many people, including many families, watching the competition unfold. Dementia is set to be the 21st century’s biggest killer and affect 1 million by 2021. Events like this help us raise awareness as well as money to find a cure, improve care and offer help and understanding for people affected by dementia.”
Save The Date! The National Refuse Championships 2020 – Friday 12 June & Saturday 13 June 2020
HISTORIC EVENT
Formerly known as the ‘World Refuse Championships’, this exciting charity event last took place in 1995 and many people in the industry recall how much fun these days-out became. Some of you may recall Jack Allen previously assisting to organise this event.
The Waste Industry has a tradition of holding summer events and exhibitions on the South West Coast of England and we hope that the ‘National Refuse Championships’ will become a regular fixture in the industry’s diary.
2017 – THE EVENT REVIVAL
Hundreds of people turned out at Weston-super-Mare seafront on Saturday 10 June to watch crews from across the UK compete in the National Refuse Championships. It was such a success that organisers have already confirmed that the event will go ahead next year – 15th & 16th June 2018.
Aylesbury Vale District Council won the coveted National Refuse Champions 2017 trophy and the event raised over £12000 for the Alzheimer’s Society.
Spencer Law, Founder of the new National Refuse Championships and Managing Director of Refuse Vehicle Solutions Ltd (RVS) said: “It was a fantastic weekend of fun and we drew a big crowd.
“I have wanted to recreate the National Refuse Championships for around 10 years but I would never have achieved it without the support of friends, family, my staff and industry colleagues, along with the superb organisational skills of Tracy Standing. We are already planning next year’s event and I hope it will become a regular fixture on the waste management calendar!”
The winning team from Aylesbury Vale consisted of driver Ed Bolton, loaders Dan, Dan, Ashton and Tiago who each won a £600 Center Parcs voucher. Second place team members won £250 of Buy a Gift vouchers and third place participants received £200 of Spa Day vouchers.
Ed Bolton: “All the teams were excellent and I can’t believe we won. We’re already looking forward to coming back next year to defend our title as reigning champions.”
Over 17 teams took part in the Championships including Biffa, Amey, Simply Waste, Kier, Aspect solutions, Hills Waste, Devon Contract Waste, Swindon Borough Council, Weir Waste, Pirtek, Equinox Recycling, Grist Environmental, FCS Cleaning and Cartwright Skips. Staff from Gullivers Truck Hire and Dennis Eagle also participated in a fun run.
Each team consisted of 5 people, including one driver, working in pairs and taking turns to run, load wheelie bins (240 litre and 1100 litre) with stones and push them 50 metres before emptying them into an awaiting refuse vehicle.
Formerly known as the World Refuse Championships, this charity event last took place in 1995. Sponsors included Epic Media, NTM, Boughton, Gullivers Truck Hire and Vehicle Weighing Solutions Ltd (VWS) led by headline sponsors, Dennis Eagle.
Richard Taylor, Sales & Marketing Director, Dennis Eagle: “When we supported the contest in 1994 it was clear how passionate the nation’s bin men and women are about their job and the work they do. It is great to have such a popular event back on the waste management calendar. We look forward to the National Refuse Championships 2018 and we encourage people in the industry to show their support.”