Stephen Violi wants to clean up Scenic Hill. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Waste entrepreneur Stephen Violi is sick of seeing one of Griffith’s premier tourist attractions, Scenic Hill, double as a makeshift rubbish dump.
“You bring your friends or your kids up here and it’s just so dirty, it’s embarrassing,” he said.
“There’s fast food wrappers and junk everywhere, especially where people park.”
Mr Violi is inviting Griffith residents to join him in making the hill spotless on Sunday 28 October from 9 am to 1 pm. He’s providing a huge incentive for people to attend.
“I’m going to hide tokens within the rubbish south of Scenic Hill. There’s going to be one worth $1000 and 10 worth $100 each. If you find them, I’ll cash them in. There’ll also be Riverina Skips merchandise prizes.
“Just bring your own gloves, bags, water and sunscreen; I’ll bring a kerbside wheelie bin truck where you can dispose of litter straight away.”
The 40-year-old launched Riverina Skips in 2019 as a small enterprise with 10 skips and a truck. Since then, it’s grown 10-fold.
“We’ve quickly expanded and offer general waste front lift bins and massive hook lift bins. At present, we have nine trucks and hundreds of different types of bins,” he said.
Riverina Skips is known for edgy social media posts. Photo: Riverina Skips Facebook.
He’s now introducing a wheelie bin service and kerbside collection for people who have too much rubbish for their council bins, but not enough for a skip bin.
“We’ve got extra wheelie bins to hire and we can pick up collections of rubbish at your house. We can also empty your council bin if you need another one done during the week,” he said.
In August, Riverina Skips snared two gongs at the annual Griffith Business Chamber awards – Excellence in Small Business and Outstanding Customer Service in Ag Services. It then went on to become the only Griffith finalist in the wider region Riverina Murray small business category.
“I’m happy that we’ve received recognition for our customer service, which is something we’ve worked hard on – it’s difficult to keep everyone happy,” he said.
“I’m not sure we’ll win the regional award, we’re up against some tough competition – an ammunition disposal company near Albury; how does that compare with skip bins?”
In fact, Riverina Skips has spiced up the waste business with an edgy social media page featuring funny skits and memes that have gained traction.
“We’ve got a great wife and husband team Alex and Llyod Hume. He’s pretty dry and she comes up with the ideas to do a funny skit and I let them go do their thing,” Mr Violi said.
“I’m grateful for everyone in my team. Don Hussan has been with me from early on and helped me out with a lot of industry expertise.”
The Riverina Skips clean up Scenic Hill day is scheduled for Sunday 28 October. It covers the area south of Scenic Drive, from the corner of Pioneer Park to past Hermit’s Cave. All are welcome; check the Riverina Skips Facebook page for more information.
