Having pledged to give 30 per cent of its business turnover in one, nominated, day to the Milton Keynes-based charity, Medical Detection Dogs, Waste King – the specialist collections, clearance and recycling company – has recently handed over a cheque for £350.

Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to help people with life threatening health conditions, giving these people greater independence and a higher quality of life. Having been taught to identify the odour changes that are associated with certain medical events, the dogs alert their ‘owners’; bring any necessary medical supplies such as glucose and blood testing kits, and get help if necessary.

Andy Cattigan, Waste King’s operations director, commented: “Of course, this pledge is in addition to the company’s continuing practical and monetary support for other charities.”

That practical and monetary support has included raising over £300 so far for ‘Movember’, as staff members have grown and groomed moustaches throughout the month in order to raise money for the fight against prostate and testicular cancer, along with other men’s health issues.

“All of Waste King’s ‘Mo Bros’, as they’re known, began the month with a clean-shaven face and, ever since then, they’ve been encouraging their moustaches to grow,” said the company’s managing director, Glenn Currie. “In recent days, there’s also been some grooming and trimming of these burgeoning appendages. I’m sure some of the team won’t want to shave their moustaches off when the end of the month arrives.”

A recently-moustachioed Andy Cattigan, Waste King’s operations director.

Movember began in Australia, in 2003, to increase the public’s awareness of prostate cancer, and since then over 1.1m people have taken part.

Currie explained: “These charitable activities and donations are just part of Waste King’s on-going corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. We’re pleased to be able to give something back to the local and wider community.”

Comment: Supporting a good cause is always worthwhile – even if you do end up looking like one of The Village People for a few weeks.