 Axe Skip Hire is calling for action to be taken against the Environment Agency, accusing it of being “unfair” and not creating a level playing field for the regulated sector of the industry. Co Owner Karen Bostock told the media: ”Within our sector of the waste industry we are all feeling like it’s a game of ‘hangman’, with the noose around our necks getting tighter and tighter the more the EA put in regulations, restrictions and costs onto our reputable waste business. “It’s my belief that thanks to the EA, the waste industry is unfair and it’s not a level playing field.” The family owned company, which has been running for 40 years, says it has to “jump through hoops” to be able to operate. This includes complying with multiple regulations, certifications and checks. However a “man and a van” needs to only apply for a Waste Carrier’s Licence to be able to start operating in the same sphere - with no training and no paper trail. Karen said: “Picture this and tell me this is fair? A man and a van service can remove any of your unwanted house contents. Literally anything and everything can go, including asbestos, all in one load. But you cannot put fridges, freezers, TVs or soft furnishings into a skip as it might contaminate the load!” All skip hire firms and waste carrying businesses with their own sites must have the following permits to be able to store and sort waste:
Meanwhile rubbish collected by unregulated operators is being dumped in lay-bys, burned at night or just left in empty properties and gardens. Karen says frustrated landlords have called her to supply skips to clear properties which have been rented out and filled with waste from these operations. “It seems they only have to produce a couple of tickets from a local tip to cover their movements. No training, no permits, no audits, no regulations, no paper trail or records. Driving, walking or riding around the countryside is becoming more and more disheartening, when you see piles of someone’s waste just tipped: fridges, freezers and sofas left in lay-bys and hedges. Probably from someone who has been paid to take it away to a co called ‘safe and proper’ disposal site. “This has to change and we would welcome the employees from the EA, who sit in their office making all these regulations, to come and see our reality on the ground.” For Axe Skip Hire another concern is the removal of soil on building sites, which it says is being over regulated by EA, resulting in dirt travelling long distances to be placed somewhere unsuitable to the local environment. The EA insists soil be removed and taken to a permitted site as “virgin” soil. This can be many miles away. Karen said: “If a lorry enters our yard, the EA says it becomes ‘treated waste’ and is not ‘virgin’ soil any more. Even if it is tipped directly onto our purpose built, self contained soil-only bay. For nearly three years we have had our soil tested and no contamination has been found, yet they are insisting it’s ‘treated waste’. And guess what - at more great expense to us with testing, storing and disposing of the soil. “We look around our local area and see once lovely fields of black Devon soil being filled with thousands of tons of bright orange clay from different counties, but this is apparently acceptable as it’s ‘virgin’ soil. "Whilst we fully appreciate protecting the environment and countryside, it has to be workable and practical. Rather than punishing the waste companies for trying to dispose of excess packaging and obsolete products, why not target wasteful producers in the first place? “It seems like the EA holds all the cards and because of their own inefficiency, lack of previous monitoring, vast overfilling and pollution over the years we are now going to another extreme.” This story features in the Midweek Herald.
0 Comments
 Ted keeping an eye on the hut during a pony club meeting (wearing his achievement badges!) Twenty years ago our founder John Bostock started to make this shepherd's hut for his one year old granddaughter Juliette, as a play house in the garden. It kept him out of the pub at the weekend and apart from the stove and the wheels, everything was sourced from the contents of our skips. It was finished in 2006 and had its first outing to the Axe Vale Festival that year. Unfortunately soon after its completion, John fell ill and later passed away from cancer. The hut continued to be very special to the family, used as a garden feature and taken regularly the Honiton Hill Rally where the family used to sleep in and cook in it. As a child Juliette would sit on the step and give people tours, a telling the story of how her Grandad had made it from skip finds. At shows she collected donations for Hospiscare Axminster, which had looked after John in his last days. In 2019 we noticed the floor was rotting badly. Frightened to try to repair it in case we made the damage worse, it was stored away in a shed. But now we have been very fortunate to find someone to lovingly restore it and it will be back at the Honiton Hill Rally in August 2026. Watch this space! Our equestrian sponsorship dates back more than 20 years. Axe Skip Hire's first sponsored riders were Rosie Baker and her sister Kelly. Rosie used to ride our owner Karen's horse back then in some competitions and loved hunter trials. Axe Skips' founder John Bostock loved hearing Kelly's stories, about the trials and tribulations of an outing with Rosie and it always put a smile on his face. She mentioned to him one day that she would really like one of our Axe Skip Hire rugby shirts to wear as her cross county top. John then arranged for her to have one and she became our first sponsored rider. Rosie did him and us all proud, riding her own horse Merlin and Karen's horse Deva. She was supported and helped by her sister Kelly, who also had matching kit. John would be so proud to see how they and our current riders Juliette and Charlotte represent his company today. Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday dear Axe Skip Hire, happy birthday to us! We celebrated our 40th anniversary with a beautiful and delicious cake. Made by a friend who is too modest to take the credit (thank you, you know who you are…) We were all feeling rather full after eating too much “rubbish”! Meet the newest member of our Axe Skip Hire fleet: our Scania S500, linked to a multi lift hook loader trailer. We have been waiting nearly a year for this set up to arrive and finally it has all come together. This is a new venture for us and will enable Axe Skips to do its own transport. It also gives us greater flexibility and a weight carrying capacity of 22t, compared to the standard eight wheeler hook loader trucks, as we shred our waste for recycling. More importantly - look how shiny it is and how pretty the colours are! We'll be driving this one with immense pride. Please wave if you spot us out and about.  Our manager Martin Williamson has been working for us for 25 years. To mark our 40th anniversay celebrations, he shares his memories of life at Axe Skips.
"I got the job at Axe Skips when I left school. My dad used to haul hardcore from the yard, saw that they were busy and asked if they needed some help and here I am 25 years later still working and driving the lorries! "The job was hard work back when I started we hand sorted everything, there was only two machines one of which i got stuck on a ramp it wasn't my best day and cost a few quid to repair, I remember telling John (the owner) what I had done, he wasn't happy as you would imagine! The machines were a work of art to use now there are new machines that make it a bit easier. "The business has got a lot bigger and the machines are a lot newer and so are the lorries. All the red tape makes it harder now compared to when I started. "When I was taken on, my first my job role was to hand sort waste for about three years then I was asked by John and Jane if would like to do lorry test I jumped at the chance now I've been driving for about 22 years now. It's nice meeting new people and going to new places. In the 25 years I've worked here James and Karen have given me lots of opportunities like doing Waste Management Industry Training & Advisory Board qualifications and I have recently done my Class 1 HGV. "The main challenges are adapting to the new changes in the industry as there are lots of new rules and regulations. Also getting used to newer lorries and machines."  Axe Skips has been run by the same family since 1985, when John and Jane Bostock set up the company with just one lorry and 20 skips. Today we operate a large sorting station near Axminster with five lorries, more than 500 skips and 12 employees. Jane has been sorting through old photos and found some of the early days when we just had a few skips, as well as records of our community involvement. This has included taking part in the Axminster Carnival every year and supporting numerous local charities with donations and involvement in projects. She says: “We had an agricultural engineering business in Chard in partnership with a friend who then decided on a change of career, so everything was sold and not knowing what to do next we brought a seaside kiosk at West Bay. We ran it for two years and enjoyed it very much. “John was always looking to do something else, so one day when a skip lorry drove past and he thought that might be something that would suit him. We sold the kiosk and brought a Dodge 50 series skip loader lorry and 20 mini skips. We were able to work from home and there were several local tipping places at that time. We thought we would give it 12 months and see how it went! “It was a slow start for a few years but it worked out very well. The Environment Agency began to tighten the rules and we had to use the Devon County Council tip at Sutton but when that rapidly filled so we had to look elsewhere. We were fortunate to buy the old council highways depot at Kilmington and were granted permission to turn it into a recycling yard. John had to take a level 4 NVQ in Waste Management to run the site and that was not easy!” Whilst John was out in the lorry Jane was back in the yard sorting the waste and driving the loading shovel, filling the 40yd roll on bins. Non recycled materials were taken to landfill sites and they managed to recycle the wood, metal, paper and hardcore. “We have had some wonderful staff over the years in the yard, driving and in the office - which has been like an extended family for us. Sadly John died of cancer in 2009, so we have raised a lot of money over the years for Hospiscare, which looked after him. I am sure he would be very proud of everyone who has worked here past and present.”  As part of our series marking 40 years in business, owner James Bostock looks back at his time with Axe Skips. John and Jane Bostock set up the company in 1985 and their son James now runs it with his wife Karen and daughter Juliette. He says: “I used to travel around with dad in the lorry and remember we would just go and pick up a skip and then take it to the local tip and empty it. How things have changed, now I am now the one driving around and we hand sort and separate all the skips and van loads that come into our yard before the waste is either recycled or disposed of. "I finished college and worked at a golf course for a few years and then in the early 90s joined mum and dad in the business. With the sad passing of dad 13 years ago, I then took over the running of the company with the help of my wife Karen who runs the office and recycling side of things. Our 19 year old daughter recently joined us and is also driving the lorries. “We have spent 40 years building up Axe Skips to what it is today and are very proud of our staff and what we have achieved. We are always looking for ways to improve our recycling and impact on the environment, but constant changes make it difficult at times. As with any business, there is always the red tape aspect of it which is demoralising, especially with the ever growing numbers of fly tippers in our lovely countryside who operate without the licences we have to apply for. “As a local business we try to help out as many local charities, events and causes as much as possible, we are great believers in putting back into a community we are proud to live in. This includes local football and cricket clubs, horses, rock concerts, annual shows and individual causes.”  As part of our 40 year anniversary celebrations, we will be sharing memories of Axe Skips over the years. Pepe is our wonderful Office Administrator and one of our longest serving employees. Here is her story.  The first "office" - a somewhat chilly portakabin! |
