Kirkintilloch man overwhelmed by support after launching bin service

Gary Young, an HGV drainage engineer, launched First Out Bins - a service that includes tracking customers’ bin schedules, taking the bins out onto the street and putting them back once emptied.

He was inspired to start it after seeing issues in his hometown with people getting bins out on time.

Gary, 38, said: “When people are starting up a business, they’re trying to reinvent the wheel. So, I thought to myself, 'What is an everyday thing that people either hate doing or forget to do that I can step in and take it away from them straight away?'

“In my area, there are a lot of issues with getting the bins out and a lot of busy families, a lot of elderly people as well. So I thought to myself, why not take people's bins out for them and bring them back?” 

Since he started two weeks ago, he’s been overwhelmed by the amount of people and Airbnb’s reaching out for his services.

He added: “A lot of my customers are elderly but it’s their children that are contacting me, saying their parents are housebound and they’re finding it more of a hassle travelling to their parents' and putting the bins out.

“One of my customers told me that she stopped using as much because she knew how awkward and heavy and stressful the bins were to get out. So she was actually cutting back, not using stuff, to be able to put her bins out.

 “It’s been very overwhelming. I’ve got another customer where her husband has a severe back injury, and he was the one taking the bins in and out for them, and he just couldn’t do it. So I do all their bins for them now as well.”

Online detractors point out that the council provides a bin-assisted collection service for free. However, many have still chosen Gary's services.

He said: “For every negative comment I've received, I must have 15 to 20 people backing me. People I’ve never known, people that I don’t have a clue who they are. They’re all fighting in my corner.

"The feedback I’ve had is unbelievable.”