Living in a high-rise, Eric McBean was tired of his block being a dumping ground for waste. So, after being made redundant, he set up his own rubbish compacting business

Eric McBean was living on the 19th floor of a high-rise in Eccles, Greater Manchester, when he had his lightbulb moment. “Everywhere in the building was nice – apart from the bins,” he says. On Friday they’d get emptied; by Sunday they’d be overflowing. “People who don’t even live in the block decide: ‘There’s a place to chuck stuff.’ A sofa turns up, then a telly.”

McBean’s landlord, the housing association ForHousing, happened to be his boss, too. McBean was the lead for enterprise and innovation. “I thought: I’d like to find a solution to this.”