Huge surge in assaults on binmen amid ‘more and more advanced guidelines’

Binmen are being attacked, abused and intimidated as they attempt to police increasingly complex rubbish collection laws.

A survey of councils found that last year 134 refuse workers were physically attacked while carrying out their jobs – meaning more than two are set upon every week.

Many more were subjected to abuse and intimidation, often from householders left irate over rules concerning what rubbish can and cannot be collected.

In many cases tempers have flared when binmen have refused to take away rubbish because people have fallen foul of recycling guidelines which forces people to separate their own rubbish into a complex system of containers.

A recent survey of councils found the average council provided householders with four different bins to sort their waste into.

Binmen are facing attacks and abuse amid ‘increasingly complex rubbish collection rules’ (file photo)

There are huge discrepancies in rubbish collection rules across the UK, with some households required to sort their waste more than others (stock image)

Residents of Blaenau Gwent in Wales face having to sort their waste into ten different bins

But some provide as many as ten, including in Blaenau Gwent, Wales.

Refuse workers, on the frontline in councils’ attempts to make people recycle more, have been punched, driven at, spat at and even pelted with the rubbish they refused to take away.

Many of the victims of assaults and abuse had been explaining to householders that they had sorted their rubbish for recycling incorrectly, while others were abused because people were annoyed extra bin bags were not taken from their homes.

In a number of cases rubbish cart staff were attacked in ‘road rage’ incidents by motorists annoyed that they were stuck behind the truck.

Among the examples from last year was an incident in East Riding was head-butted in the face by a resident who lost his temper because his bin was left on the kerb and not put back inside his garden.

Bury council had an incident where one of the rubbish collection team was confronted by a member of the public who was angry that some waste had fallen on the floor. He then threw the waste at the binman before punching him in the face.

In Slough a bin collector had a cup of tea thrown over him and his foot stamped on by somebody enraged that they would not empty a contaminated recycling bin.

The police were called to an incident in Thurrock where a member first verbally abused a rubbish collector and then spat in their face.

A set of plastic, paper & cardboard, tin cans, glass, bins for recycling in Cumbria

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: ‘Council staff work incredibly hard to collect waste and recycling and keep our streets clean and clear of rubbish.

‘Any attack on a refuse collector, verbal or physical, is completely unacceptable. Nobody should have to experience this kind of shameful behaviour whilst carrying out their job.

‘Councils take a zero tolerance approach to any form of attack on their employees and any such matters would be reported to the police so perpetrators can be brought to justice.’

Milton Keynes council said its staff had been racial abused, intimidated and even threatened with a knife while making roadside collections.

In Sutton, London, there were two cases of assault where collection crew were attacked by women. In the first incident a loader was hit in the arm by a woman he had asked to wait for safety reasons as the truck reversed. In the second case the driver of a rubbish truck was racially abused and then slapped in the face by a woman householder.

Bath and North East Somerset council said it had a case where a driver mounted the kerb and sped towards the bin collector before getting out of the car and hurling the binman to the floor.

In Doncaster an angry householder hurled plastic items from his bin at the council employee who refused to take his rubbish away because he said it was contaminated.

A variety of overflowing rubbish and recycling bins (file photo)

Officials in North Somerset said they had one incident last year where a crew collecting rubbish from homes in Weston super Mare were threatened by a man wielding an axe.

In Southwark, London, an angry householder who had just had an altercation with a bin crew then let his dogs out and threatened the collection team.

Cheshire East council had one case where a crew member was spat at by a householder angry their contaminated bin was rejected, and another where a resident tried to heat butt the collector after being reminded their bin needed to be outside their home by 6.30am.

In Tower Hamlets the driver of a broom sweeping vehicle that was cleaning the kerbside road was attacked by a cyclist angry the vehicle was in the cycle lane. The attacked caused damage to the vehicle and when the driver got out to check he was punched in the stomach.

Official figures show that last year a total of 22.1m tonnes of rubbish collected from homes in England of which 9.9million tonnes was sent for recycling.

The incidents, which took place in the last year, were disclosed in Freedom of Information responses from councils across England.