Following on from the pandemic I wanted to continue shooting for my Heroes project  http://files.rakusen.co.uk/HEROESv8.pdf and I was discussing this with my contact at North East Lincolnshire Council. 

He suggested that I look at the Bin Men of Grimsby who had worked on valiantly right through the pandemic emptying the bins of the town and should certainly be treated as heroes. At the same time he encouraged me to look at the process of domestic waste to Energy production. Indeed the whole area’s waste goes to a modern and clean facility on the edge of town where it is burnt in a massive, continuously rotating furnace to produce Electricity and steam for a large industrial complex nearby.

 

I’m always interested in unusual industrial projects, and you’ll generally find me in Nuclear power stations, Steel works, Car factories so this seemed to fit in quite nicely.

 

I go and recce nearly all my shoots where ever they may be and off I went to have a look. I met a great team of Bin Men and the workers at the power station and I explained what I was trying to do and they were keen to work with me. 

It was some time before I could arrange to come back to do the shoot and on that day my chosen bin team were not available. 

We drove round the streets of Grimsby in a little electric council van looking for a friendly team and eventually my assistant and I were literally dumped out on the street with all the kit in front of a new team. It was early morning and they weren’t entirely pleased to see me, not knowing who I was or what I was doing and I was delaying their round and the huge refuse truck was taking up most of the road. 

 

I only had a few minutes to win them round and photography isn’t all about taking pictures, its about talking to people and putting them at ease! By the end of the shoot we were the best of friends!

 

I was heroically assisted by Mark Richardson who tried his best to stop me being run over, incinerated or fall off a 100 ft chimney.

 

© Monty Rakusen 2022