Dirty bins put food on the table
Tanja Bause
“You see a green dirty rubbish bin... we see bread, food on our table,” says Lucy Rocco (35), owner of Windhoek Wheeliebin Cleaners.
She describes her business as a Covid baby.
“During the Covid era, we had to constantly disinfect everything. This is where the idea originated.
“The idea is that people can leave their rubbish bins on the pavement and my team and I will come and clean and disinfect them. Then, when you get home, you can just push the clean bin back into your yard.”
She started with two workers and currently has three as the business slowly grows.
“At the moment we wash the rubbish bins at houses, but we have the capacity to wash rubbish bins at apartment blocks or shopping centres too. We offer packages - for three, six or 12 months. Either twice a week, or we can just come out and clean it once.”
While the Windhoek Wheeliebin Cleaners team comes to people's homes, she says they don't need access to your house. “We bring the cleaning agents, water and everything we need.”
They work according to the municipality's garbage disposal schedule.
“For example, if you live in Dorado Park, then Thursdays are garbage collection days, so we clean the garbage bins in Dorado Park on a Thursday, because the bins must of course be empty to clean them properly. We also put a black bag in the bin when it is clean.”
Lucy hopes to raise awareness about hygiene.
“I want people to realize that a dirty bin can spread germs and viruses. Your bin in your kitchen is clean, so why should the one outside be dirty, smelly and attract flies?”
Lucy admits that she likes cleanliness and cleaning.
“I love cleaning. You can almost say it's kind of a hobby. My advice to everyone is that if you have a hobby with which you can earn a penny or two - which you can turn into a business - do it. It doesn't matter how small you start, just start. Look for someone selling sweets; it is a business, the person makes a living. So start and do something.” –
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