Andy and Susan Stuart started Pink Bins from scratch in 1998. Now, after nearly 20 years, the pair have decided to take life a little easier and hand over the reins to their son, Craig.

Craig is now Pink Bins’ general manager. Janine Hutchings will take over as operations manager.

“Mum and Dad are still directors in the company, but they have decided to pursue more relaxed activities,” says Craig.

Small beginnings

Initially, Andy and Sue part-owned of a small firewood and rubbish removal business on Auckland’s Northshore.

“The business used trailer-type bins with a stripe of pink. As it happens, Dad likes pink, which is a bit unusual, and this gave him the idea for Pink Bins,” says Craig.

Andy, a jack of many trades, purchased a cab and chassis and then built the hydraulic mechanism required to lift gantry bins. Around the same time, Andy and Sue sold their stake of the North Shore rubbish and firewood business to start their new venture.

Pink Bins officially started on the fifth of June, 1998. Back then, we had just the one truck and 10 bins.

Andy drove and Sue managed the phones.

Since then, we’ve seen considerable growth. We now have 11 trucks and over 500 bins throughout Auckland — all pink of course. 

Recycling

Recycling is integral to the Pink Bins brand and like many things in life and business, the decision to recycle was somewhat fortuitous.

Craig says the idea to recycle came about in 2005 when the landfill in East Tamaki was coming to an end.

“We didn’t want to use transfer stations because that would be too expensive — you’re effectively paying for disposal and transport.  Dad figured it would make sense to recycle as much as possible to reduce weight and then bulk transport to the nearest landfill, which is Hampton Downs.”

This led to the development of the Pink Bins recycling depot on Greyson Avenue in Manukau.

A bit about Craig

Craig has been with Pink Bins since 2006. During his time, he’s worked in all areas of the business, from driving to despatch to sales. For the last three years, he has held the position of operations manager.

Craig: “I see a lot of potential for growth over the next 10 years with the pending building boom — we aim to make the most of it. We also intend to continue developing better methods for recycling and disposing of waste. The future looks good.”

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