Suez’s ‘We Refuse Abuse’ campaign seeks to combat violence and aggression experienced by recycling and waste workers, prompted by new statistics that revealed a 42% rise in incidents of ‘serious verbal and physical abuse’ reported by staff.

A video included in the campaign details the experiences of assault faced by two different members of staff, one of whom works at a Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRC) in Cornwall, and the second who resigned from his position at Connon Bridge HWRC due to the incident.

The council has emphasised that it ‘wholeheartedly supports’ the campaign, which will be ongoing for the remainder of August, reinforcing its zero-tolerance approach towards aggression inflicted upon staff.

Cllr Loic Rich, cabinet member with responsibility for Environment and Climate Change at Cornwall Council, said: ‘Thank you to these men for speaking out and sharing their experiences. No one should be treated like this when simply doing their job.

‘Any violence against our staff, or anyone employed by our contractors, will not be tolerated.

‘Incidents like these are reported to the police and we will ban abusive or aggressive members of the public from our Household Waste and Recycling Centres.’

John Scanlon, CEO of SUEZ, said: ‘Millions of people use recycling centres every year - the overwhelming majority of these visitors are wonderful and the main reason many of our colleagues enjoy their front-facing roles.

‘However, a very small minority of aggressive individuals have caused members of our team enormous stress and upset and we want to ensure this upward trend in verbal and physical assaults does not continue.’

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