'I am a woman in a man's rubbish world'

Sandra McCluskey with long dark hair stands outdoors beside a wooden fence, with dense green trees and foliage in the background. She is wearing a light-coloured sleeveless top and large hoop earrings, and has a visible tattoo on the upper arm. The photograph is a close-up portrait taken in natural daylight, with the surrounding greenery filling most of the frame.

Image source, Martin Heath/BBCImage caption,

Sandra McCluskey said she is determined to stop waste going to landfill or being fly-tipped

ByMartin HeathBuckinghamshire political reporter

Published50 minutes ago

The owner of a waste collection company that distributes reusable items to deserving causes said she was "a woman in a man's world".

Sandra McCluskey, who lives in Bedfordshire but operates in the Milton Keynes area, said she had been "warned" about getting involved in the industry but wanted to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill or left by the roadside.

She first tried to make a waste clearance business work a few years ago, but the Covid pandemic made it difficult. Once the masks had been packed away and the crisis was over, she set about creating "The Firm".

"I've been warned a couple of times that it's definitely a man's world and I shouldn't be involved," she said.

"Just because I'm a woman, it doesn't mean that I can't do the job efficiently," she added.

Across the country, only 19% of the waste management workforce is female, according to data from the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management.

Sandra McCluskey standing on a pavement outside a supermarket holds a large transparent sack filled with recyclable items, including plastic bottles, cartons and packaging. She is wearing a light-coloured sleeveless outfit and has visible tattoos on both arms and one leg. Behind her are recycling bins, a row of green and blue bollards, parked cars and a supermarket car park. The photo was taken outdoors in daylight, with dry grass visible on a bank in the background.

Image source, Martin Heath/BBCImage caption,

Sandra McCluskey says she is passionate about reducing waste and reusing items to help people

McCluskey's own life experiences have, she believes, contributed to her desire to help vulnerable people by passing on useful waste: "I was homeless myself, I've suffered hardship, I've been on benefits, I've lost my son, I'm a single parent now and I've seen things.

"I could see how things could help people - mattresses for single mums, or dishwashers or washing machines, clothes for the homeless, bottled water from event clearances."

View from inside a house looking out through a shattered front window. The glass pane is covered in large cracks and several sections are broken, with shards of glass scattered across the white windowsill. Outside, a grey car is parked close to the window on a residential street lined with trees and hedges. The image appears to document damage to the property, with the broken window as the main focus.

Image source, Sandra McCluskeyImage caption,

Sandra McCluskey believes bricks were thrown through her window because she stood up to unlicensed companies

There have been hurdles along the way, and she said bricks were thrown through a window at her house after she "made a strong stand" against a company she believed did not have the correct licences to operate.

She continued: "As registered waste carriers, we're being undercut by unlicensed people who aren't being responsible about where the waste goes, and that's why there's so much fly-tipping."

A large pile of dumped waste and scrap materials stacked beside a hedge and a dark vehicle. The debris includes metal fencing panels, poles, crates, tools, tarpaulins and assorted household items, with vegetation partially growing around the rubbish. The scene appears to show fly-tipped waste in an overgrown outdoor area on a sunny day.

Image source, Sandra McCluskeyImage caption,

Sandra McCluskey's firm handles domestic and garden waste as well as event clearances

Milton Keynes has seen fly-tipping fall by more than a quarter over the past five years, but the city council believes "there is much more to do".

"Being a woman, I do have that bit of emotional attachment as well to the fact that I would like to see greener spaces and stronger communities."

She feels that responsible carriers often get "tarred with the same brush" as unauthorised companies, even though she is paying out for licences, insurances and tip fees.

For McCluskey, the reward comes in the face of those who receive items that someone else has thrown away.

"If you can see a child of maybe five who's never had a scooter in their life, and I've managed to give that child a scooter through a donation I picked up in a tonne bag, and it hasn't ended up on the side of the road, and it's made someone really happy, I believe that's a really good thing to do," she said.

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.