It goes without saying that both the public and BusinessWaste are fully aware of the need for police to wear body cameras as they work, with allegations of police misconduct a constant threat. But the UKs waste management agency BusinessWaste.co.uk have made a case that the same technology should also apply to bin men, and have campaigned strongly to add body cams to their uniforms. The very small, wearable cameras used to record the frequently eventful shifts of police officers on duty are set in stone proof of any unethical behaviour, as well as significantly aiding to exonerate officers of being accused of crimes they didn’t commit. Now, BusinessWaste.co.uk say they could do the same for the waste collectors.
Mark Hall, spokesperson for BusinessWaste.co.uk, said: “Bin men often face accusations of poor behaviour from the public, whether that’s claiming they haven’t collected valid waste, have made a mess during their rounds, or have been rude and abusive during their shifts.
“We recommend to all councils to add body cams to their bin men’s uniforms to counter these accusations, and help improve the reputation of these vital workers to give them the respect they deserve.”
BusinessWaste.co.uk have also said that among the problems that could be solved with this camera footage are overfilled bins, waste in the wrong bins, bins that just haven’t been put out, and all round general conduct from bin men on duty. In over 80% of cases where residents complain about their waste collection services, the residents themselves have been found to be at fault, however, this doesn’t stop the bin men suffering damage to their reputations.
Overfilled bins are a common and frequent complaint among bin men, with bins that have been overfilled regularly being messy and problematic to empty. A resident complaining of mess, and who has subsequently also over-filled their bin, can be shown to be responsible for the mess with the footage from a bin man’s body camera. As well as this, waste collectors aren’t duty bound to pick up waste that has been put into the wrong bin, which usually causes a host of problems at the processing end. That means leaving behind bins that have been improperly used, which is something that can be shown with a body camera to have been the reason for leaving a bin un-emptied. Missed collections can also incur wrath from the public directed towards bin men, so body cameras can help to protect them from harm or prove what has happened, as well as highlighting and showing instances where bins weren’t collected on the basis that they weren’t put out.
