Professional Builder’s Roger Bisby visits builder/inventor John Barrett in Newport, Gwent to find out about the Litter Gripper
John Barrett likes a tidy site and that means cleaning up as you go. It struck him that sweeping into a dust pan and then transferring those contents to the rubble sacks was a laborious process. How many times do you spill the contents while trying to hold the bag open?
He started to think that the bag needed a mouth that you could sweep into or simply hang up on a nail or hook. It was a simple thought but it took a few attempts to come up with the product that is now the Litter Gripper.
Not only can you attach a polythene rubble sack to it you can also use it to hold a bag for rubbish collection.
The idea has been a success, and John is now distributing the Litter Gripper through merchants and also selling them to local authorities for their little picking teams.
It is a simple idea, but having a wide open mouth on the bag means that litter pickers can use the grab and place the litter into the bag in one movement without having to manoeuvre the bag open. It is estimated that it has increased productivity by 30 per cent.
On site the fact that builders can grab the bag with the Gripper, sweep up, and then pop it back on the hook means that rubbish is dealt with as it occurs, and that cuts down on dust.
All in all John’s invention has proven to be a success, and this has inspired him to go on to greater things. His next invention will allow builders to work in the rain and prevent wash off from walls, and we will be returning to see that one.
Anyone would think that South Wales is short of rain because we couldn’t line up a day when there was a high chance of it. In fact, it was a lovely sunny day when we visited John, and if you are in the rain protection business of any kind that is not what you want to see, but he looked happy enough.
Having a few different irons in the fire helps and John is already working on his next idea.