How often do the bins get collected on your street? In many areas of the UK, general refuse is only collected every 2 weeks, which means lots of people who WFH are having to do tip runs when they could be running their businesses. This is especially the case during the school holidays when the kids are eating their way through house and home. Newspage would like to hear from anyone who thinks the UK's refuse collection system is genuinely cutting into their work day and productivity. One of the team here has just spent an hour doing a mid-week tip run because the fortnightly collection simply isn’t enough. This is a semi-serious piece so gags and bin metaphors and welcome. As it’s GDP day tomorrow, how much growth could the economy be missing out on due to Britain’s bin problem?

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Time to bin Britain's wasted hours? 

If I have to wash another yoghurt pot I think I’ll self-combust. That’s the mood in many homes like ours. Parents of disabled children often provide full-time care with next to no sleep; many live with their own health problems. Yet they are being told to rinse soft plastic film from meat trays like it’s no big deal. We care about the world and its people: many families are already doing far more than their fair share. But when life is already a pressure cooker, a bin that’s only useful for a Barbie can be the final straw. Most don’t even realise they can ask for reasonable adjustments, and when they do, councils often say it’s “unreasonable”.

Jennie Prewett is the founder of Incredible Kids.  Incredible Kids was born when more than 400 children with disabilities lost their much-needed specialist play area in 2012. Families were devastated that their children’s access to a safe play and support facility had been cut. Our founder Jennie had the simple idea of providing a safe place to play. A group of parents came together and overnight formed a grass roots, family led support circle, reaching out to other families in need. Today, Incredible Kids is managed by a group of dedicated parents, including our founder who work collaboratively with over 2000 children, young people and families.

Jennie Prewett

Bin day in Britain is now a neighbourhood sport. You watch your neighbour’s driveway like a hawk to figure out what goes out, then play the weekly game of guessing what time the lorry shows up. Spoiler alert, it is always when you are in a Teams call! 

You master the “dump and thump” strategy to cram into the bin as much as you can, just to avoid the tip, because nothing says humiliation like convincing the bloke at the gate that you are not running a business.  Or have a serious pizza and Prosecco problem! 

If productivity is down, it is not laziness. It is wheelie bin anxiety. 

Trish McGirr doesn’t do jargon. She’s the strategist corporates, lenders and boards call when financial distress threatens to spiral from balance sheet to headline. Director of Autris Ltd and founder of Repossession Rescue, she has built her reputation by exposing the human cost of debt and the chaos it creates for business. Her authority was forged in governance, first in the NHS, then through national consulting roles shaping policy and strategy. Since 2003 she has also lived and breathed property and finance, advising on distressed assets and risk. That mix of boardroom insight and frontline reality means she speaks with rare credibility on mortgages, debt, consumer impact and the challenges of deploying AI responsibly. Trish doesn’t just comment, she challenges. She calls out complacency in finance and corporate strategy, demanding solutions that balance profit with principle. For her, debt, vulnerability and automation aren’t operational headaches; they’re governance priorities that decide trust, compliance and brand survival. And when financial decisions hit the frontline, Trish is the voice that makes clear: risk becomes reputation, and governance is survival.

Time to bin Britain's wasted hours?

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Jennie Prewett

Founder and Trustee at Incredible Kids

Patricia McGirr

Founder at Repossession Rescue Network

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