Cornwall Council Supports Campaign Against Abuse of Recycling Centre Staff

Cornwall Council throws weight behind new campaign as workers speak out about violent abuse

Cornwall Council has come out in full support of the We Refuse Abuse campaign following disturbing reports of violence and aggression towards staff at Cornwall’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs).

The campaign, launched by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ), highlights real stories from workers across the country, including several based in Cornwall.

“Am I Going to Be Blind?”

One of those voices is Simon Collett, a staff member at Bodmin HWRC, who had a clear liquid thrown in his face during an incident last year. Recalling the terrifying moment, Simon said he was left fearing the worst.

“Is it acid? Am I going to be disfigured? Am I going to be blind?”

His story features in a film produced by SUEZ as part of the national campaign, which documents numerous violent and aggressive acts against HWRC workers.

“I’ll Rip Your Throat Out”

Another worker, James Maughn, shared his experience from Connon Bridge HWRC near Liskeard, where he was threatened by a man who told him he would “have his throat ripped out”. The impact of the incident was so severe that James left his job entirely.

Cornwall Council Responds

Cornwall Council has publicly backed the campaign and made it clear that abuse of any kind towards HWRC staff or recycling collection crews is unacceptable.

Councillor Loic Rich, cabinet member for Environment and Climate Change, 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.”

SUEZ Calls for Change

John Scanlon, CEO of SUEZ, praised the vast majority of recycling centre users but warned of an increasing problem caused by a small group.

“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.”

The We Refuse Abuse campaign aims to raise awareness and push back against the rise in attacks on workers, with both SUEZ and Cornwall Council standing firm against those who think it’s acceptable to abuse staff doing their jobs.