Steve Jones always has a rubbish holiday - literally.
This is because the former binman travels around Britain and Europe to watch dustcarts in action - and even offers to work with them temporarily for free!
Steve, from Lake, Isle of Wight, became obsessed with the rubbish collecting vehicle as a teenager. He started 'spotting' the trucks, keeping a notebook with registration numbers, details of the carts and the names of the crew and even took orange overalls on holiday so he could help the local binmen.
He said: 'As a child I remember a Bedford TK cab and chassis with an Eagle crush loader body coming to my home - that's how it started.'
Now his passion for trash has seen him emptying bins all over Britain and even abroad - including Malta and Cyprus.
He said: 'I plan my holidays around rubbish.
'These days, because of health and safety it's all changed in Britain - I can't just join in over here now, even though I must know more than any agency staff.'
Mr Jones has now lovingly restored a rare 1982 Shelvoke and Drewry dustcart so he can drive it in his spare time and is in the process of restoring another.
What a rubbish holiday! Meet the man with a dustcart obsession who spends his time off at WASTE TIPS
Daily Mail Reporter
6th July 2011
Daily Mail
Former binman Steve Jones always has a rubbish holiday - because he travels around Britain and Europe to watch dustcarts in action, and help them for free.
The 48-year-old's bizarre fascination with dustcarts began as a child when he spent school holidays following them round west London on his bicycle.
Now he likes nothing more than travelling hundreds of miles, tracking down the local waste tip and volunteering his services. He said: 'People think I have a strange hobby but nothing comes close to the thrill of riding in a dustcart.'
Bin-credible: Steve Jones travels hundreds of miles offering to work on the bins for free, including for the Isles of Scilly Council in Cornwall (above)
While a teenager Mr Jones started 'spotting' the trucks, keeping a notebook with registration numbers, details of the carts and the names of the crew and even took orange overalls on holiday so he could help the local binmen.
He said: 'As a child I remember a Bedford TK cab and chassis with an Eagle crush loader body coming to my home - that's how it started.
'I loved watching the rubbish get chewed up by the crushing mechanism.
'I was certainly unique - the only child who was in love with dustcarts and I dreamed of being a dustman.'
The bachelor from Lake, Isle of Wight, said that his obsession meant he worked every summer as an unofficial, unpaid dustman for 17 years.
He said: 'I went out every morning and then did the evening run along the sea front emptying litter bins just for kicks.
'The crews all knew me. I still remember Norman and Tim as if it were yesterday in their PX Revopak truck registration-plate MDL255W.'
Wasting time: His passion for rubbish has taken him as far afield as Malta and Cyprus
Now his passion for trash has seen him emptying bins all over Britain and even abroad - including Malta and Cyprus.
He said: 'I plan my holidays around rubbish.
'These days, because of health and safety it's all changed in Britain - I can't just join in over here now, even though I must know more than any agency staff.
'That's why it's so much better to go abroad to watch refuse collection now.
'I went to Malta in 2009 and Larnaca in Cyprus in 2006 and each time I got up at 5am, put on my blue overalls and persuaded the local bin men to let me join in.
'To be honest some of the foreign dustcarts are a bit cheap and nasty. But even abroad they often use some of the best British models like the old Shelvokes.'
Trash talk: At one time Mr Jones was actually a dustman but left because others didn't share his passion
Mr Jones's dustcart holidays in the UK have taken him all over the country from Cumbria to the Isle of Thanet in Kent and from the Isles of Scilly to Allerton in West Yorkshire.
In 1987 he landed his dream job but after four years emptying bins in Feltham and helping colleagues in Brentford he became disillusioned that others didn't share his passion.
Now a self-employed gardener, he said: 'A lot of youngsters came into the industry and didn't have the same level of commitment and enthusiasm so I became disheartened and left.'
Mr Jones has now lovingly restored a rare 1982 Shelvoke and Drewry dustcart so he can drive it in his spare time and is in the process of restoring another.
With a top speed of 43mph, the dustcart costs around £1,000 a year to run, despite being driven little more than 400 miles in that time.
Recycled: His lovingly restored and rare 1982 Shelvoke and Drewry PN Mini dustcart
Dumped: Bachelor Mr Jones' favourite trip is to a waste disposal day in Devon
He said: 'I fill it with clean cardboard once or twice a year, take it to a recycling centre and push it out again, just to make sure it all works fine.
'It takes me months to collect the necessary 1.5 tonnes of cardboard but it's quite satisfying to watch the crushing - I take a few photos of that each time.
'It's wonderful watching them in action. Even if I can't join in I love seeing them crush the waste and dump it at the tip.'
Steve Jones' dustcart obsession sees him holidaying at waste tips | Mail Online
This is because the former binman travels around Britain and Europe to watch dustcarts in action - and even offers to work with them temporarily for free!
Steve, from Lake, Isle of Wight, became obsessed with the rubbish collecting vehicle as a teenager. He started 'spotting' the trucks, keeping a notebook with registration numbers, details of the carts and the names of the crew and even took orange overalls on holiday so he could help the local binmen.
He said: 'As a child I remember a Bedford TK cab and chassis with an Eagle crush loader body coming to my home - that's how it started.'
Now his passion for trash has seen him emptying bins all over Britain and even abroad - including Malta and Cyprus.
He said: 'I plan my holidays around rubbish.
'These days, because of health and safety it's all changed in Britain - I can't just join in over here now, even though I must know more than any agency staff.'
Mr Jones has now lovingly restored a rare 1982 Shelvoke and Drewry dustcart so he can drive it in his spare time and is in the process of restoring another.
What a rubbish holiday! Meet the man with a dustcart obsession who spends his time off at WASTE TIPS
Daily Mail Reporter
6th July 2011
Daily Mail
Former binman Steve Jones always has a rubbish holiday - because he travels around Britain and Europe to watch dustcarts in action, and help them for free.
The 48-year-old's bizarre fascination with dustcarts began as a child when he spent school holidays following them round west London on his bicycle.
Now he likes nothing more than travelling hundreds of miles, tracking down the local waste tip and volunteering his services. He said: 'People think I have a strange hobby but nothing comes close to the thrill of riding in a dustcart.'
Bin-credible: Steve Jones travels hundreds of miles offering to work on the bins for free, including for the Isles of Scilly Council in Cornwall (above)
While a teenager Mr Jones started 'spotting' the trucks, keeping a notebook with registration numbers, details of the carts and the names of the crew and even took orange overalls on holiday so he could help the local binmen.
He said: 'As a child I remember a Bedford TK cab and chassis with an Eagle crush loader body coming to my home - that's how it started.
'I loved watching the rubbish get chewed up by the crushing mechanism.
'I was certainly unique - the only child who was in love with dustcarts and I dreamed of being a dustman.'
The bachelor from Lake, Isle of Wight, said that his obsession meant he worked every summer as an unofficial, unpaid dustman for 17 years.
He said: 'I went out every morning and then did the evening run along the sea front emptying litter bins just for kicks.
'The crews all knew me. I still remember Norman and Tim as if it were yesterday in their PX Revopak truck registration-plate MDL255W.'
Wasting time: His passion for rubbish has taken him as far afield as Malta and Cyprus
Now his passion for trash has seen him emptying bins all over Britain and even abroad - including Malta and Cyprus.
He said: 'I plan my holidays around rubbish.
'These days, because of health and safety it's all changed in Britain - I can't just join in over here now, even though I must know more than any agency staff.
'That's why it's so much better to go abroad to watch refuse collection now.
'I went to Malta in 2009 and Larnaca in Cyprus in 2006 and each time I got up at 5am, put on my blue overalls and persuaded the local bin men to let me join in.
'To be honest some of the foreign dustcarts are a bit cheap and nasty. But even abroad they often use some of the best British models like the old Shelvokes.'
Trash talk: At one time Mr Jones was actually a dustman but left because others didn't share his passion
Mr Jones's dustcart holidays in the UK have taken him all over the country from Cumbria to the Isle of Thanet in Kent and from the Isles of Scilly to Allerton in West Yorkshire.
In 1987 he landed his dream job but after four years emptying bins in Feltham and helping colleagues in Brentford he became disillusioned that others didn't share his passion.
Now a self-employed gardener, he said: 'A lot of youngsters came into the industry and didn't have the same level of commitment and enthusiasm so I became disheartened and left.'
Mr Jones has now lovingly restored a rare 1982 Shelvoke and Drewry dustcart so he can drive it in his spare time and is in the process of restoring another.
With a top speed of 43mph, the dustcart costs around £1,000 a year to run, despite being driven little more than 400 miles in that time.
Recycled: His lovingly restored and rare 1982 Shelvoke and Drewry PN Mini dustcart
Dumped: Bachelor Mr Jones' favourite trip is to a waste disposal day in Devon
He said: 'I fill it with clean cardboard once or twice a year, take it to a recycling centre and push it out again, just to make sure it all works fine.
'It takes me months to collect the necessary 1.5 tonnes of cardboard but it's quite satisfying to watch the crushing - I take a few photos of that each time.
'It's wonderful watching them in action. Even if I can't join in I love seeing them crush the waste and dump it at the tip.'
Steve Jones' dustcart obsession sees him holidaying at waste tips | Mail Online