Veolia bin company and Sheffield City Council have teamed up to finally put a stop to the verbal and physical abuse their staff have been experiencing.
Veolia have reported over 40 cases of abuse from the public since 2022.
This surge in abuse is what has compelled both organisations to begin the ‘StreetKind’ campaign.
Richard Holland, 53, Veolia’s Chief Risk Officer for northern Europe said: “No one should be abused simply for doing their job and we’re determined to combat this unacceptable trend.”
The campaign’s goal is to not only reinforce the public’s behaviour towards staff but also train employees to respond to these incidents.
In the past 12 months, a Sheffield resident physically attacked a worker for not taking their extra waste.
Richard said they intent to “take the most serious action for the most serious attacks, including criminal prosecutions”.
According to Veolia their goal is to also ensure they bolster the safety and well-being of frontline teams by creating a more secure working environment.
As part of the ‘StreetKind’ campaign, a series of videos showing 360 degree CCTV footage from collection vehicles has been crafted to shed light on the abuse the frontline workers have been receiving.
Sheffield residents have been encouraged to actively support this campaign, using the #StreetKind online and displaying their appreciation with a friendly smile and wave as they go about their duties.
