A BIN man who made minimum wage has told how he loved his job despite people assuming it was a last resort.
Edinburgh refuse collector Grant Flynn, 37, enjoyed the role despite lots of misconceptions about it.
Grant, who nicknamed himself ‘the ninja binman’, won the TV show SAS: Who Dares Wins last year and co-founded health and wellbeing platform Socialfit World.
The fitness fanatic, who quit the job last year, says: “What I enjoy about being a bin man is the hours.
“It’s starting your job at 7am, getting round your run and heading home.
“It keeps you very fit. Some days you’re walking 25,000 steps.
“The biggest misconception is that you are not the sharpest tool in the box because it’s an unskilled job.
“The guys I worked with owned their own boats, one guy has two motorbikes, many had great interests like history and battle reenactments.
“It’s a job. It’s an essential job. I think the pandemic could vouch for that.
“Did bins stop getting collected?”
Despite the pay not being the best and encountering some strange smells, Grant would recommend the job to others.
He adds: “It was explained to me we were unskilled workers so its minimum wage.
“Become a driver on the bins. I believe it’s better money.
“In the summer food bins would often have fish in them.
“Boiling and fermenting in a broth and then maggots – thousands of maggots.
“Bag your food everyone and then clean your bins. It’s not difficult.
“But I would recommend being a binman/woman.
“Aside from the odd smells from bins, the comradery, the hours and physical benefits all add up.”
