‘We Refuse Abuse' Campaign Calls for End to Violence and Aggression Against Waste Staff

21 incidents of abuse from members of the public at borough recycling centres

There were 21 incidents where staff at Blackburn and Darwen’s recycling centres faced aggression from people using the sites in the last five…

‘We Refuse Abuse’ campaign calls for end to violence against waste staff

A campaign to curb aggression against waste and recycling workers got underway this week as figures published by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) revealed a worrying 42% increase in serious verbal and physical abuse by members of the public towards frontline staff.

‘We Refuse Abuse' campaign calls for end to violence and aggression against waste staff

A campaign to curb aggression against waste and recycling workers got underway this week as figures published by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) revealed a worrying 42% increase in serious verbal and physical abuse by members of the public towards frontline staff

SUEZ reports 42 per cent rise in waste worker violence

SUEZ records 318 incidents of verbal and physical abuse against waste workers in 2024, as the company launches an awareness campaign to combat rising violence in the sector. Olivia Loughran Olivia Loughran - News Industry Waste Management Breadcrumb Section Waste Management Main Magazine Feature 0 Remove Mag Cover bottom Date (Materbi) Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Keywords waste worker violence, SUEZ recycling, workplace abuse, househo…

Violence and abuse towards waste workers up by 42%

Waste management company SUEZ says there has been a 42% increase in serious verbal and physical abuse by members of the public towards frontline staff. The figures were released as SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) launched a campaign to curb aggression against waste and recycling workers. Last year, there were 318 reported encounters where aggression was directed towards a SUEZ staff member. Just over 240 of these happened at household wast…

A short film has been released to highlight the aggression faced by waste and refuse workers.

A campaign to curb aggression against waste and recycling workers got underway this week as figures published by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK revealed a 42% increase in serious verbal and physical abuse by members of the public towards front-line staff. ‘We Refuse Abuse’ will run throughout August to highlight the almost daily occurrences of violence and aggression against SUEZ collection crews, street cleansing workers and staff based at hous…