Mr Binz began life as PB Bins. Owners Stephen and Jane Sparnon bought that business in 1998, rebranding it with the Mr Binz name and investing in another truck and crane and more bins.

Deciding that customer service was paramount, they elected to concentrate the business in the north-west of the Auckland region, covering from Massey in the south to Kaukapakapa in the north, and Muriwai in the west to Redvale in the east from the company's base at Kumeu.

Mr Binz is 100 percent locally owned, and all staff are locals too - meaning they know their customers' area intimately.

Jane will be your first point of contact with Mr Binz; she handles customer enquiries and looks after the accounts.

Stephen (left) looks after the truck and bin side of the business, and you'll often find him - along with drivers Neil and Boris - behind the controls of one of the three trucks.

The trucks themselves are highly visible, with bold sign writing, bright yellow 'smiley' faces on the rear axles, and very appropriate personalised number plates - TIDY UP, CHUK IT and GRABBA.