Popular site worker Mr Omand has worked at Waterford for the past eight years and was well known by local people as he was always cheerful and willing to help. However, after reaching the age of 65, and after working for 18 years and 79 days for Moray Council, he decided to call it a day.

"I'm retiring," he said.

"I've got a caravan in Findhorn that I've hardly been able to spend any time in. It has a wee garden so I'm going to put a bit of time in there."

Mr Omand has made a name for himself over the years as a bit of a gardener and creative landscaping expert, by entertaining the public who visit the site to get rid of their rubbish with his humorous attempts to cheer up the facility.

As well as planting up pots of flowers, many of which were dumped at the site, he also painted garden gnomes and garden statues and put them around the site, making it into a colourful spectacle.

He also caused a bit of a giggle around Forres when he renovated and planted up old toilets to make them into flowering displays.

The "Forres Gazette" has featured pictures and stories about Mr Omand and his work in the past, after members of the public wrote or contacted the office to compliment Forres on the cheerful site and to commend Henry for his efforts.

The Waterford site, where just about everything can be recycled, also offers a base to Moray Waste Busters, who pioneered composting and enlisted Mr Omand's help to build a garden at the site, using recycled and reclaimed materials.

On his last day, Mr Omand said that the Waste Busters had agreed to keep on the maintenance of the garden, which he was pleased about.

Signing off for the last time after eight years spent at the Waterford Amenity Site near Forres is Henry Omand with Woody, which was the last in a long line of garden creations that were Henry's trademark while he worked at the dump.

But as one final fling before he left, Mr Omand created another garden ornament, who he called "Woody" and bears similarities to a wooden flower pot-type man.

He was presented with a barbecue by colleagues and his boss at the Moray Council environmental services department, waste disposal officer Craig McIntosh, in recognition of his work.

"I have known Henry for many years, and have always found him to be helpful in the extreme," added Moray Councillor for Forres, Jeff Hamilton, who has volunteered at the amenity site over the years and is a supporter of the pioneering recycling work done there.

"Henry obviously had a talent for turning rubbish into something worth looking at," he added.

"This has been evidenced over the years by some of the signs, garden ornaments and floral displays which we have all seen."

Mr Hamilton said Mr Omand was always enthusiastic and welcoming to all, and popular with the public and colleagues.

"He and I have put the world to rights on many occasions," he said.

"I wish him a long and happy retirement."

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