Recycling centre workers to wear body cameras after being subjected to 'abuse'

Workers at Renfrewshire Council’s household waste recycling centres will wear body cameras after being subjected to “aggressive behaviour and abuse” while doing their job.

The local authority stressed the importance of staff safety in a service update report as it explained the decision was made after discussions with site staff and trade union representatives.

Councillor Eddie Devine, who represents Paisley South East, described the step as a “necessity” and claimed members of the public “lose the plot” at the facilities on occasion.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It doesn’t happen a lot but it does on occasion and I’ve heard the workers saying that some people don’t accept the rules of what you can and cannot dump.

“People unfortunately do seem to lose the plot at times and they take it out on the people in front of them.

“The workers are just doing their job and they do a damn good job in all sorts of weather. This step is a necessity. I’d rather we didn’t need it but if we need it, we need it.

“We can’t have workers being abused, they’re doing their job. People shouldn’t be abusing the workforce.”

According to the council, the use of body-worn cameras within household waste recycling centres is “common” in other areas and will be in addition to existing health and safety measures on site.

The report, which will be considered at Wednesday’s infrastructure, land and environment policy board, said: “The vast majority of people who access our household recycling centres for disposal of their waste and recycling follow the site rules and if they are unsure of anything will ask our site staff for assistance.

“Unfortunately, on a small number of occasions our site staff have experienced aggressive behaviour and abuse from site users, and this is not acceptable.

“The safety of our staff is of the upmost importance to us, and this is reflected in the council’s policy on violence and aggression at work.

“Following discussions with site staff and trade union representatives the waste service will introduce body-worn cameras for our recycling centre staff.”

It is expected the presence of the cameras will discourage interactions from escalating and capture evidence if they do.

Their use will be clearly communicated to site users via signage, the local authority added, and its website will also be updated with this information.

Councillor Devine, a member of the board, added: “When I’m down there and having banter with the staff, because obviously some of them know I’m a councillor, they’ll tell me about it.

“There are very few people that act in this way but ultimately that’s still too many and they can be extremely abusive towards workers. It’s not acceptable.”