Meet the bin man with seven Michelin stars

Cookham Waste & Recycling – a family business based in Long Lane, Cookham – has been working with the three Michelin-starred The Waterside Inn in Bray for more than a year.

Before founder Barry Head started working for legendary chef patron Alain Roux, the restaurant would receive two or three complaints a week from residents.

Locals were disturbed by the noise of large bin lorries that damaged walls in the village’s narrow streets, plus the clatter of breaking glass as the restaurant’s bins were emptied.

Since starting, Cookham Waste & Recycling has won residents’ hearts by using smaller waste trucks, and has eliminated the noise of breaking glass by swapping full bins for empty ones, meaning that they aren’t emptied on-site.

The company’s success at The Waterside Inn led to three more restaurants joining Cookham Waste & Recycling’s books in August. Contracts with the three-starred Fat Duck, one-starred The Hinds Head and The Crown, mean that the company is now supporting all of Bray’s world-famous restaurants.

Marlow’s high-end eatery The Oarsman also joined Cookham Waste & Recycling in September.

Founder Barry Head has now got his sights set on Tom Kerridge’s and Atul Kochhar’s local establishments.

Barry Head, founder of Cookham Waste & Recycling, said: “We never set out to provide waste services to every restaurant in Bray, but we’ve clearly got the recipe for success.

“Before we started working with The Waterside Inn, residents were enduring noisy bin collections that clogged up the streets of Bray. Now the village is quieter and cleaner, and happy residents make for happier businesses.

“We’re looking forward to working with all of the amazing restaurants in Bray, and hope we can make the village cleaner, quieter and more peaceful.”

Alain Roux, chef patron of The Waterside Inn, said: “We were sceptical when Cookham Waste promised to 'change our lives’, but they have delivered exactly what they said they would do.

“We face some great challenges integrating a three-star Michelin restaurant into a very small street in a small village.

“Has Cookham Waste changed my life? Being the person that had to answer to our neighbours, absolutely they have.

“I would not hesitate in recommending their business to anybody facing challenges with their waste management, especially those that care about the environment.”